9 
of these act directly as fertilizers, although if we had 
but better information it is likely we should find they 
had effect on the insect pest in the ground also, but in 
a few cases we can bring the dressing in a preliminary 
stage before it is altered by the air to act at once on 
the wire worms. Lime in its caustic state is always 
useful as a clearing dressing, and fresh gas lime, or 
alkali-waste, serves if need be to destroy all insect 
and weed life where it may be laid. Where alkali- 
waste is laid on in large amount, it washes down so 
readily that the drains will run milky at a depth of 
three feet in heavy land, and it. may be made to serve 
as an absolute purifier of all live vermin some way 
down in the land. We do not often need its application 
to this extent, but it is very desirable to bear in mind 
against the sudden appearance of some pest which 
should be fairly stamped out, that there is a material 
which for little if any more outlay than the cost of 
carriage will serve for this purpose, and, after a few 
months’ exposure has neutralised its poisonous pro¬ 
perties, will leave all land to which sulphate of lime is 
applicable all the better for the temporary heavy 
dressing. Salt given at the rate of 5 to 10 cwt. the 
acre is serviceable as a dressing before breaking up 
land, both for killing couch grass and driving out 
wireworms. Also the property that salt possesses of 
attracting moisture may be turned to good service on 
heavy corn land which is infested. The moistened 
surface becomes slightly incrusted (or firmed, as it is 
termed), and consequently the wireworms are to some 
degree prevented from travelling at will amongst the 
plants. Nitrate of soda pushes on a rapid growth, and 
is of great value as an antidote to wireworm attack in 
the straw crops, but little is said regarding the effect 
of this and salt being used together. Looking at the 
difficulty of the nitrate being often too stimulating to 
the growth of the straw and leafage, whilst the effect 
of the chloride (that is to say, of the common salt) is 
to prevent undue luxuriance, it would appear worth 
while to try the effect of the mixture. We thus should 
have a dressing which, without being too stimulating, 
would be a thorough fertilizer, and would also cause a 
condition of surface soil to some extent unsuitable for 
wireworm movement. Further, judging by the effect 
of both the nitrate and chloride on other larvae, it 
might very likely prove so distasteful to the wireworm 
as at least to diminish the amount of attack. 
These are the kind of points on which we need full 
information. The requisite observations to gain this 
knowledge could not be carried on better anywhere 
than here, at the Royal Agricultural College, where 
the laboratory and the field experiments can so 
efficiently be made in connection with each other. 
Laboratory experiments are very useful in showing us 
which chemicals of those likely to be tried in sudden 
difficulty do not exercise any influence on larval or 
grub life, for thus much valuable time which might 
have been lost at the important moment is saved to us. 
But with regard to the applications which we mean to 
