The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1874-07-02
From the clarksviIle Tobacco LeafI

Sc,troyi1E Them-Ten Years OF Inve.tiRa-
s;e1 and ExPerinsent-Letter from Ken.
Iueky Grower.
Iron the clarksviIle Tobacco Leafl
Much has been said and written during the
mast few years relative to the history of the to-
bacco 1y, yet the subject remains obscure one,
owing to the indefinite and contradictory views
advocated. To better elucdate the subject, /
propose to lay before the readers of the Leaf, the
result of my researches within the past ten years
Since The year 1863 have closely investigated
the natural history Of the tobacco fly, and have
experimental largely in the various methods of
its destruction by poisonous agents, and hope
shall not be charged with an undue share of
egotism when say that muclTthat has been pub
Gshed in newspapers upon this subject is entire
1y erroneous. Tobacco worms, and other cater
pillars, have three states of existence viz: worm
chTysalis and butterfly. The latter we term a
tobacco fly. The worm is Matched from the egg
of the fly in two or three days from the time of
it, deposit on the leaf When eight or ten DAYS
old it assumes passive drOwsy state for three
or four days, and then throws off it's old skin
which has become dry and loose. By this change
its dental arrangement is become much improved,
its powers of destroying greatly augmented, and
it becomes full grown at the age of about twen-
ty-eight days, in the meantime having well
earned the reputation of the planters most bit
ter enemy. The last few days of the worms stay
are passed in trips back and forth from plant to
the ground, seeming 10th to try the uncertain
realities of such habitation. Having finally en-
tered the ground its last time, it deseends the
depth of eight to twelve inches, and usually rests
with its head down. Thus is begun the second
state of its existence, which period continues ten
months, when it has undergone great change
now being encased in hard shell with articu-
late rings in the centre, by which motion is Sc
cured. We now observe to what use the horn of
the worm has been turned; it is no longera SEEM
ing useless appendage, but has become hard and
is shaped like the bit of an anger, by which the
chrysalis is enabled to bore its way to the top
of the ground, where its shell is thrown off, and
thence begins the third, last, and We may well
say the most enviable state of its life.
TobaccO-6es are divided into males and females
and present considerable variety in their size
and color the females having shorter and thicker
bodies, and their color not SO sandy the males;
they suck the flowers of various plants but mani
fest Partially for those which have strong
odor, such as the gourd and jamestown weed, as
il is commonly called, but more properly datura
stramonum. At the age of seven to fourteen
days the female is ready to lay eggs, which are
deposited on the plant of which we have traced
the history. When tobacco is scarce or is wan
ting, the flies put their eggs upon some other
plants viz: The potato (IrishJ, tomato, horse
nettle, and black night-shade, all of which
belong to the natural order s0laRum. About two
or three weeks are spent in dspOsiting the eggs,
when the life of the fly terminates. 1t is thus
seen that the life of the fly is about twenty eight
days one month, the same as that of the worm;
adding these to the period as a chrysalis, We
possible, then as has been asserted, for worms to
change into flies and deposit eggs the same sea-
son. Actual experiment has proven the con-
trary, and nature If uniform in her laws. We
now come to the most important part of our
monograph, the different methods Of preventing
the multiplication or increase of tobacco worms.
A large percentage of the worms that mature
and go into the ground, do so after the tobacco
crop has been cut and housed; and thus we rea-
Oily see the advantage to be derived from dig
ging up or tn. ming under with the pillow the stub
BILE of the plant after the crop is out; for this
stubble puts forth sprouts or suckers upon which
immense numbers of worms feed and mature.
Some years we have an early frost, which kills
the suckers and Obviates the necessity of des-
troying them as recommended. The next meth
cd of preventing an increase of worms which
suggests itself is, the blowing of the land Guilt
waited in tobacco the previous year, in the months
of January or February, so as TO turn up and ex-
pose the chrysalis to cold, freezing weather.
Flowing the land Immediately after the crop is
cut would prevent the worm returning to a new
position in the ground; whereas, when the plOw
ing is as late as before stated, the chTysalis is
torpid in a semi-changed condition, and cannot
return to an abode underground. 1t is obvious
that spring blowing would not answer our pC-
pose, unless the blowing were succeeded by
freeze. Poisoning the fly seems to be the most
popular way in vogue within the past few years
for preventing the ravages of tOhaccO-wOrms.
Cobalt, arseniac acid and cOrrOsive-sublimate are
the poisOns recommended. Strychnine would
not be sultaUle, as the JObaccO-uy mas no spinal
cord, only nervous ganglion. The cobalt is
most conveniently used by melting ounce in
a pint of water and adding half pint of liquid
honey. The bottle containing this should be
kept ont of the reach of children, as a number of
cases of poisoning have occurred owing to negli-
gence in this particular. An ounce phial, with
cork stopper, into which is inserted small quill.
is suitable for putting the poisonous solution in
the stramOnium flowers. The best time for doing
this is every evening about sunset. Two or three
drops are enough for one blossom. StramOnium
has tubular blossom which opens about
honr before sunset, and remains open until after
sunrise the next day, when it closes, withers and
dies. Every evening there is an entirely new
blossom. 1t is mistaken notion that the cobalt
kills the blossom. The fly sucks the poison by
means of its long bill, which is nothing more
than hollow tongue and is killed by excessive
purRa.ion. The time required to produce death
depends upon the amount taken. / have often
seen them killed by the poison in fifteen or TWEEN
ty minutes
One or two dozen stramonium plants should
be set in arich, moist spet, in the tobacco ground
early in the season, say May or June. All others
on the farm should be cut down, for the flies pre-
fer TO feed from the unmedicated blossoms In
order to work the destruction the flies effectu-
ally, the planters throughout every neighbOrhood
should use the cobalt as directed. Planters
must not rely too exclusively npon this preyen-
ting them from finding worms on their tobacco;
il they do they will not get enough of the poison
70 produce death the first dose, and are apt to
shun IL afterward. unless it be disguised by
using another sweet instad of the honey.
W. CHAMBERS, ". D.
Henderson, KY, JAM, 1874.