THE WHITE GRUB.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2382, 14 July 1892, Page 3

THE WHITE GRUB.

A nurseryman of standing in the Southern provinces has written a request to be furnished with information as to procure the new culture cure for those destructive insects known as the white grubs, which are in point of fact the larvpa qf several distinct species of beetles which (in their larval stage) inhabit the ground, and do serious injury by eating the roots of grasses, &c., their common name being derived from their colour. The nature of the “ Culture,” and its mode of application are both exceedingly simple. The “ Culture,” as it is called, is simply a powder consisting of spores (or seeds) of a certain fungus plant which is known to attack the white grub, and the mode of application is to catch a number of these grubs, and sprinkle a little of the powder over them. They quickly show signs of the disease, and they are then planted in holes in the ground at considerable intervals in the grub, infested fields, causing the disease to spread through the field, and destroy all the grubs in it in a very short time. It is unnecessary to say more at present, as the subject has been written upon for this journal before, but should anyone be public-spirited enough to import: and try the remedy, t}ie writer has all the iujnute details of application in his possession, and will, wtth pleasure, give them to any one who applies to him at his address as under, culture has been urgd'Hopd % artificial meaps ip pnpnpQus quantities for sale by a Rrqpch business firm, whose name Upd address }s, “ Messrs Bribing and Hesse, No, 9U, Rue des Keoles, Paris.” It is made up in tubes containing enough to infest several hundred grubs. Trial tubes are advertised at 50 centimes, and the <• commercial article ” epsts, 6 trapes. 'The best way, probably, for a private individual, would be to, procure a few tubes through an importing firm Aviso have dealings* with Vavia. h would be a very desirable venture, and not an expensive or risky one, for a wholesale chemist to import some of these tubes.;, and it certainly comes very iparkedlY within tb,o scope of ova- agricultural and horticultural societies. ‘N.X. Farmer.