REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 1907 27 
of the one owned by Mr D. K. Falvay. This vineyard, it may be 
remembered, was very badly infested by root worms in 1903. The 
situation then was so serious that a collecting machine was made 
and over 150,000 beetles taken in the course of two weeks from 
about five acres. This tract has subsequently received careful cul- 
tivation and special attention has been given to cultivating so that 
the largest number of pupae might be destroyed by this latter pro- 
cess. ‘The result has been that this vineyar1 has. been exceptionally 
free from this pest during the past three years, probably in a large 
measure due to the very thorough work of several years ago. An 
examination at this time, July ro, of other vineyards, led us to 
conclude that there had been a considerable improvement in some 
of those that were badly infested a few years before. There were 
some vineyards where the root worms were somewhat abundant, 
though so far as our examinations disclosed, the pests were not 
nearly so numerous as in earlier years. This observation was con- 
firmed subsequently by an examination of a number of vineyards 
Oct. 16. By far the greater number showed relatively little injury 
to the vines as indicated by the amount of feeding on the foliage, 
while in scattered localities there had undoubtedly been large num- 
bers of beetles present and the indications are, in these latter cases, 
that considerable injury has been inflicted and more may follow 
next year unless some adequate measures are adopted for checking 
this pest. 
The root worm outbreak in Chautauqua county appears to have 
passed through the first and most severe stage and we may now 
expect a period during which this pest will be much less injurious, 
though it should be borne in mind that so far as individual vine- 
yards are concerned, there is still danger of severe injury here 
and there throughout the grape belt. It is therefore most advisable 
for all growers to keep a close watch upon conditions in the vine- 
yards so that destructive tendencies can be promptly checked. Un- 
doubtedly the better care and cultivation given the vines in recent 
years has had much to do with bringing about these marked 
improvements, since this treatment has resulted in a more vigorous 
growth and corresponding resistant powers. It is well known that 
root worm injury is most likely to be serious on light sandy soils. 
This is due partly to the fact that the insects seem to thrive better 
there, and somewhat to the lower resistance of the vines, since we 
have repeatedly seen vineyards on clayey soils infested by enormous 
numbers of root worms and yet showing comparatively few signs 
