THE GRASS GRUB.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144670, 3 May 1915, Page 6

THE GRASS GRUB.

to t:i:: editor. Sir.— Replying to the Jotter signed “AV. R. Wiigln." published in Friday’s Herald. I fear that 1 cannot suggest any anilico. device or bogey to effectively scare starlings away to prevent them roosting in . Air. AVright’s dwelling house. If wooden pins, or other pieces of wood, were fastened into the corrugations under the caves of the iron roof they would effectively prevent the birds from getting under the roof, unless there are other crevices whereby they do or could cuter. Owing to tho nature of the .‘■tailings' food ,'ir.d their voracity, they arc extremely foul birds, and would boon render a dwelling house uninhabitable if penuiued ro most in numbers in the .spare between the ceiling of the rooms and tile iron roof. Tho pests referred to by All. Wright as being destructive to agricultural crops in the United States are not identical with the grass grub in New Zealand. The former is caused by the root-feeding larvae of two species of moths, whicn have increased at a phenomena! rate since they began to attack cereal and other crops. In some ot the States several species of beetles--notably the Colorado beetle—have also muh’ipiied at a. prodigious rate, and have caused groat destruction among plants noncudemic to North America. The grass grubs which annually cause great lots to npric-.ilmri.its and pastoralists in New Zealand are tho la. vr.e of several species of cockchafer or l-.tirrov. ing beetles, all of which are root-feeding in habits and endemic. Since my letter appeared on .Monday last i have received set era! letters inquiring as to other methods, if any, of suppressing tho destructive grass grub other than depending solely on the stallings to do the work. At the presell', tune there. is no natural enemy known and no discovery or in-

vontion of man’s to compare with the incessant labours of the starlings in all weathers against those pests. Mr. Wright has remarked that they “seem to be heating the starlings.” So long as new land is ploughed and put into nutritious grasses so long will the grass grub continue to thrive anri increase, at least under the present limited ami ineffective measures adopted for its suppression. When the'vast swarms of beetles appear on tho wing during calm summer night in Canterbury the farmers light large fires, into which tho beetles fly headlong and perish nigh thin millions. To illustrate the stupendous and formidable nature of tiles-? swarms, after a mild winter in Canterbury, 1 may describe a massacre by natural means which occurred in November, 1888, during a terrific nor’-west gnie such as occasionally sweep tbe Canterbury Plains. After the gale Air. Herring, of Alford Station, near Aiount Somers (this gentleman is now living in Christchurch) wrote, to mo requesting that 1 would visit Alford the follon-iii”-Sunday and ho would show me. “a worn derfnl sight.” Soon after reaching Alford wo visited a gorso fence running north and south, having a deep ditch mi both sides. The fierce pale leeching through tho dense grass tussocks had swept out the beetles and dashed them against the ditch bank until the ditch was full of beetles and dead grass. Another phenomenon connected with the gale is worth mentioning. The powerful wind sweeping the tussocky river-beds and grassy lower plains had caught up vast numbers of tins beetles and carried them out to sea. The incoming tide cast them ashore tho following morning along the whole sea-board or Cautc?> buryl No systematic or scientific effort has eror. keen made hx an£ N ew_

Zealand Government to cope with this disastrous l>e st * r ' vl i A ll * • or • ' 6 numerous other species of noximis insects infesting this fair ®“ d ,P ru J,couutrv, he suppressed until the Government found a properly equipped entomological department control.od b;. perfectly trained scientific entomologists If a natural enemy of the grass m-ub in New Zealand cannot be found ni New Zealand. lot the Government dispatch a scientific man haying the necessarv training to other countries to endeavour to procure one. Lie case of tho cottony cushion scale that threatened min to fruit culture in California and the Auckland district some vears af'o is strong evidence of my contention? The State Government of California, seeing disaster ahead, dispatehod an entomologist to Austra.ia to discover a natural enemy of the scale insect. if possible. The result was a •n-cat success. In South Australia a dirge species of ladybird was discovered feeding on scale insects. A large number of'the ladybirds were dispatched to California, with the result that the cottony cushion scale was swept from rite Slate in three years. The same experiment was tried, with the same result, in the Auckland district, and thus it saved both countries many millions of money. Feeling that I ant tresnassing seriously on your space. I will*leave further consideration of this important matter in the meantime.—l am, etc., M A\ ,S.