The Grass Grub.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XLIII, Issue 2287, 4 March 1912, Page 6

The Grass Grub.

Mr John Ronnie writes as follows to a Canterbury papßci:—" By tlie attention given to the grass grub this year, one would suppose it was the first time the grub has given any trouble. I have had the grass grub on my farm more or less for the past 25 years, and once you get to know its habits it is not so difficult to pro-. vido against. The principal thing is to put a sufficient quantity of cocksfoot in the grass mixture when laying down. The cocksfoot is a deep-root-ing plant, and takes a good hold of the ground, and the grub can make little progress, and in cocksfoot does more good than harm. I have been farming over 10 vears, and have never had an acre of crop injured by the grub, nor have I missed a mangel crop for the past thirty year;;, and I have seen the grub reach tbo Hying stage after the mangels have been up. This winter I had a small paddock grub-ridden. I put on the chain burrows alter the first rain, and >es sowed it with mixed grasses, sowed a bog o( basic slag, harrowed again and now the grass is as Illicit as a mat, and no doubt the paddock bus benefitted by the working of the grub. Oti my land 1 am satisfied that the grub, like the worm, d<ies more good than harm. On light lands I would advise, when it first shows oigns of grub, to harrow or grub, sow seed and plenty of slag. You will soon have a better sort of grass than before. With regard to the aphis blight and diamond hack moth, the birds are farmers' friends, and in ordinary seasons they are able to cope with the pests, but with a long spell of drought they increase too fast. In that case the best plan is to put the sheep on as soon as they are seen."