female begins laying her eggs, to the number of 200, placing them
under the rough bark of trunk and cane. These hatch in late July or
August and the young grubs at once seek the roots.

[Illustration: FIG. 39. Injuries caused by beetles of the grape
root-worm.]

Two methods of control have been devised: destruction of the beetles
before they lay their eggs; and destruction of the pupae while in the
ground. When the beetles are present in large numbers, many of them
may be destroyed by spraying with a mixture of cheap molasses and
arsenate of lead, using molasses at the rate of two gallons to a
hundred gallons of water and the arsenate of lead at the rate of six
pounds. This should be followed by a second spraying a week later,
using bordeaux mixture (4-4-50) and three pounds of arsenate of lead.
This second spray serves to repel migrating beetles from the vines.
The molasses spray is ineffective unless several days of fair weather
follow the spraying, as rain washes the material from the foliage.
Bordeaux mixture is not easily affected by rain. In moderately
infested vineyards, bordeaux mixture and arsenate are used instead of
molasses and arsenate of lead, followed in about ten days with a
second application of the same material.

An effective method of reducing the number of beetles is the
destruction of the pupae. This is best done by leaving a low ridge of
earth under the vines at the last seasonal cultivation to remain until
most of the larvae have pupated, and then be leveled with a horse-hoe
and later with a harrow. The horse-hoe and harrow crush many of the
pupae and break the cells of others to the great destruction of the
pest. This latter method of control is not adequate in itself and in
bad infestations both should be used. When the infestation is only
moderate, this latter method is not advised, owing to the lateness of
the time of horse-hoeing. It is good horticultural practice to
horse-hoe the latter part of May or early June. To wait for the pupal
stage of the root-worm delays the work until numerous small roots
start which would be destroyed by the horse-hoe. Spraying will control
a moderate infestation.

_The grape-vine flea-beetle._

In the warm days of May and June when the buds of grapes are swelling,
a shining steel-blue beetle may often be found in the vineyards of
eastern America feeding on the tender buds of the grape. From its
color the insect is often called the steely-beetle, and fro