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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 14

Prevention

Prevention.

First and foremost among means of prevention is the abolition of weeds from the land and from the outsides of fields. This has been recognised and adopted long ago by some agriculturists, for we find the following passage in Vol. XV. of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, in an essay upon the farming of light land, which is always more liable to attacks of wireworm. "There is a farm in the neighbourhood of Guildford" which presents an instance of a perfectly clean farm, and kept "so by deep ploughing, unsparing use of horse and hand hoes. "It has often been remarked that root crops and corn are un-"molested by wireworms upon this farm. The owner asserts "that he starved them long ago by growing no weeds to sustain "them in the absence of a crop."

The habits of this insect do not take it far from its birthplace. It evidently prefers in its perfect state to crawl or climb on page 29 plants and weeds, and it may be constantly seen in the summer crawling on the ground in meadows and leys, and the duration of its life in this stage is most limited. In districts subject to wireworm clover leys should not be kept down two years. After the first cut of clover or "seeds" sheep should be put on and the herbage kept closely fed down until the autumn. Sainfoin should be omitted from the rotations in these circumstances until the wireworms have been starved out.

Following a bad attack in wheat, oat, and barley crops in which damage is plain and manifest (whereas in turnip and other bulb crops and grass it is by no means so apparent, and the presence of wireworms often passes undetected) a winter fallow is strongly recommended. It is highly important that the land should be scarified or cultivated immediately after harvest and kept moved as long as the weather will allow, that no roots or stems may be permitted to live. As soon as it is possible in the spring the soil should be again stirred and weed growth stopped. Tares may be sown then. Wireworms do not attack this crop for some reason. If there are doubts as to whether the enemies have been starved out a crop of mustard should be taken, either for folding off or for sailing. Wireworms cannot eat these plants, and if plenty of seed is put on so that there may be a thick plant, all weed and other growth is completely checked.

For oats after wheat on fields suspected of harbouring wireworms thorough cultivation immediately after the wheat has been carried, and a rigid destruction of all growth in the soil would be efficacious, in at least reducing the numbers of the destroyers. When barley is taken after wheat this course would be more likely to be effectual, since this grain may be sown in most districts much later than oats. It would be better still to put peas in after the wheat, late and after thorough cultivation, as wireworms, as at present believed, do not do much injury to this crop. But if the land is foul and full of water grass, couch, and other weeds, it would pay over and over again to give it a summer fallow with continual scarifying and cleaning.