4 
and abdomen of a rusty or rufous colour. In shape they 
much resemble a single seed taken from a ripe sunflower 
head—they are narrow, often flattish, about half-an- 
inch long (some kinds more, some less), and the common 
kinds are of some shade from greyish or reddish brown 
to black. 
These beetles lay their eggs amongst grass or other 
ground leafage, and for this reason the wire worms 
which are hatched from these eggs are most numerous 
in grass fields or clover leys, as year by year the beetles 
settle down on these suitable spots, and the wireworms 
remaining undisturbed thrive without drawbacks. In 
such places we may find them of all ages, from those 
hatched in the current season up to those which have 
been feeding for five years, and which, having reached 
the limit of their larval life, are now going deep down 
into the ground to change to chrysalids. 
We all know the appearance of the common wireworm 
by its resemblance to a short piece of flattened wire, or 
of straw, which it resembles in colour, but some kinds 
found in decayed leaves or wood are of a deep pitchy 
brown. All of them have three pairs of little claw 
legs, and also jaws which they use only too readily. 
Where wireworm is numerous in wheat or any other 
growing crop, if this crop is in good heart, or as was often 
the case last year (1882), if the weather is favourable, we 
may very possibly escape much damage. Or sometimes 
we may lessen the amount of injury that is going on by 
various measures, such as compressing the soil so as to 
prevent the wireworms travelling through the ground, 
or using applications which will attract the worm or 
drive it away, and so give the plant a temporary 
respite, or which will act as temporary fertilizers. 
Still, these special measures require special outlay, and 
it is a much better plan as far as we possibly can to 
forestall attack, and as wireworm is generally to be 
found in land broken up from old pastures, clover leys, 
or sainfoin, the treatment of these, both before and 
after breaking up, so as to lessen the amount of egg- 
laying, and also to diminish the numbers of the wire- 
worms (which otherwise would have infested each 
successive crop for years), is an important item in 
prevention. 
If we look first at the treatment recommended before 
breaking up grass or pasture land, or for reducing the 
ground into proper condition for the succeeding crop, 
we find the points aimed at are to make the surface 
quite unattractive for egg-laying, and to starve out the 
wireworms. 
For this purpose it is found serviceable to feed sheep 
or cattle on the ground with cake, or other feeding 
stuff, “ so that each inch of ground shall be trodden 
and eaten bare.” In one locality this plan was carried 
out by penning such sheep as were to be fattened 
during the winter on the land. The sheep were fed 
with turnips, oats, and hay. The pen enclosed as much 
ground as could be thoroughly trodden by the animals 
in the course of a week, and was then moved forward, 
going on regularly from one side of the field to the 
