The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1873-04-23
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Cut. Worms and Corn.

A correspondent of the Country
Gentleman thus gives his opinion as
to how cut-worms may be prevented
from doing any damage to corn
The method is cheap, of easy APP
plication and perfectly safe. If any
body else should write to you in the
same strain Of assertion, 1 should
think he was Glowing" and would
give but little heed to him, but 1
beg Of your readers to give this plan
a trial this spring over parts Of their
fields, SO that it may be tested, and
then send you the result for publica-
ton. Ny brother discovered this
method, and has published it year
after year many times. ] once ask
ed him if he had heard of anybody
else trying it, and he said that he
had heard OF q few, and he believed
more had failed with it than sue
ceeded, and that it had killed the
corn oftcner than it had repealed the
worms, but that he should continue
to keep it before the public until its
merits were appreciated by enough
of farmers to prevent the discovery
being lost again. l am pleased to
say that have, within g few years
past, heard Of good many who
have used it successfully. The fail
ures are always the result of mis-
management Of the grossest kind.
though the whole thing is just as
simple as sweetening cup of cof-
fee. Here it is. Immediately after
the corn is planted, sprinkle on the
hill, over the covered grains, about
one tablespoonful Of salt to each
hill. More will do no harm, but
how much more the corn could stand
/ do not know. A tablespoonful is
enough, and perhaps less would do.
That is all. have buried cut
worms in salt and left them there a
long time without doing them any
apparent harm, and they will crawl
ever salt without hesitation or any
seeming annoyance, but they will
not eat the young corn plants i'll
there is little salt in its sap. That
seems to be the explanation of its
protective influence.
The explanation Of the harm
sometimes done by this method is as
follows: The worms begin to cut
the corn, and they keep on cutting
1t. The farmer has seen my broth |
er's article in the country newspa-
per, or in some agricultural publica-
tion, and he gives his corn hills and |
corn a dose Of salt. The grains of
salt fall down the inside of the ten
der corn blades TO the center of the |
plant and wither it. Allow me to
repeat that the salt should be put on
the corn hills Immediately after the |
planting, that it may be dissolved by
the rain, dew, or other moisture in
the air, and thus reach the roots Of
the plant greatly diluted by mixture
with the soil, and therefore safe to
the young and tender plant; and
also that it may BE at the roots,
where it may enter the sap Of the
plant-not 1T the leaves, where it
can only destroy. wish that some
Of your cottOn-grswing readers
would try it on cotton plants as a
protection against the worms that
every few years inflict national cal
amity by making so much Of the crop
a failure. If it should prove rs sue
essful on Gotten as Oh corn. Con-
Eress may recognize the value OF
ny suggestion by voting me few
sections of public land, which l will
gratefully accept, and establish an
experimental farm