The means of destroying these pests should be discussed. The Bulletins named above give detailed information in reference to spraying and fumigation.
CUTWORMS
(Consult Bulletin 52, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa.)
Cutworms are the larvæ of medium-sized brown moths that fly at night. There are many species of cutworms, all of which are destructive to some forms of plants or grasses, grains, and vegetables.
The larvæ are rather thick, naked, worm-like forms. They burrow into the ground, but emerge at night to feed by cutting through the stems of tender plants or by feeding upon the leaves. For the most effective method of dealing with these refer to what is said on "Combating Garden Pests", Form II.
When a field is known to be infested with cutworms, it is a good plan to spread poisoned clover or cabbage leaves over the ground before the seed is planted.
WHITE GRUBS
White grubs are large, fat, white larvæ of June beetles. These beetles are the well-known large, brown, clumsy beetles that blunder into the house at night in May or June and drop with a thud upon the floor. Three years are spent in the larval form, the grubs living underground and feeding on the roots of plants, especially the roots of grains and grasses.
Since they are found chiefly in fields recently ploughed from grass, they may be held in check by rotation of crops and by fall ploughing, which exposes the larvæ to the winter frosts.
In May or June, when the adults are feeding on the foliage of fruit and shade trees, spraying the trees with London purple is quite effective for destroying the beetles before they have laid their eggs among the roots of the grass.