THE WHITE GRUB.

Otago Witness, Issue 1762, 29 August 1885, Page 7

THE WHITE GRUB.

In a Northern exchange we find an extract from the of the Directors of the Lincoln School of Agriculture, Canterbury, treating on! the grass grub, Odontria Zcalandia, written by Professor Kirk F.L.G. We are under the impression that the learned professor _ has confounded two of the species of the odontria very different in their habit in his description. On this point we may have something to say in a future notice. It is to the cures suggested in the paper that we would at present call attention to. These are "mixing >soot with the surface soil, soaking the ground with soap suds, or by pressure on the surface, and on a large scale by ploughing and harrowing as it is singularly impatient of any disturbance of the surface soil ;" and " a new departure, rich with promise in this direction is the occasional cultivation of plants possessing repellent properties on the one hand, or on the other attractive and poisonous."

Our experience with regard to soot and soap sups is that they have very little effect on the grub ; even a touch of hot lime does not seem so effective as on the slug r aud as to any impatience manifested in disturbing the soil, it seems only in the direction of making the grub more lively and active than formerly as lie very soon makes his way down into the soil again. Of course if the trouble of hand-picking is adopted when turning over, or better still if a number of fowls or birds are about at the time to pick up the grub, the remedy is effective, but the simple ploughing and harrowing does little good,, except in crushing a few of them.

The idea of repellent or attractive and poisonous plants has been borrowed from Baron yon Mueller's suggestion as to their use in destroying the phylloxera on vines, the plants named being pysethrum (fever-fen), the ordinary hemp, ,and the potato. It is a noted fact that the potato will not kill or repel 'the slug. Hemp has not been tried, and when the common fever-fen is growing in land where the grub is plentiful it seems to exercise no influence at all in repelling or poisoning, its strong smell and bitter taste notwithstanding. We certainly were in hopes of receiving, from so eminent an authority as Mr Kirk, and through such a famed school as that of Lincoln, ' some better information and more instruction regarding the extirpation of this destructive pest than the extract affords.