Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-08-27
How to Conquer the Currsnt. Worm.

Patient investigation for eight years en-
ables Leroy Sunderland to give the natural
history of the currant-worm at length in the
Journal of Chemistry, showing, among
other things, that the same individual ap-
pears in no less than five different transfor-
nations, twice as fy, once as borer, and
twice again as worm, submitting, in the
borer stage, to be frozen solid all winter, for
the sake of fulfilling its spring mission of de-
vastation. How and when to attack such
protean enemy is the natural query, answer
ed by Mr.. Sunderland as follows, promising
that the essential point is to follow the in
sect through all its stages and discover at
which it can be most easily arrested: Going
over the currant bushes in May, We notice
that some stems of the new growth have been
recently squarely cut off, so that few
inches of the top hangs to the bark or has
fallen to the ground. This cut is done by
the parental fly, the starting point in the
cycle, for the sake of depositing an egg,
which matches out into borer, to be in the
following spring transformed into another
fly, whose eggs, laid on the under side of the
leaves, are hatched into the familiar currant-
worm, the only object of attack hitherto.
Prompt removal OF this cut end saves our
currants and gooseberries, and the worm the
trouble of at least three transformations
Some dozens of these cut ends taken off in
July of the present season contained each
small borer, some so small as to be seen only
with microscope. The encouraging fsa-
ture is that each cut end can be noticed and
numbered, a thing impossible with the po-
tato bug, curculio, or any other pest going.
The ends should be clipped off with sharp
knife, in slOping direction, and above the
axil Of a leaf. so az to facilitate continued
growth. If left alone till late in the fall
these stems will be found all dead, and
should then be cut away and made an end
of-once for all. The origin of the fly
which does the cutting IS thought to be dis
covered in another transformation undergone
by the final or currant-wOrm proper. la
company with the green feeders are often
found white worms which do not feed at all.
Experiment made it certain that these were
green worms which had mOulted their
skins. and it appears that, like the queen
bees in hive, the white worms, which are
few in number compared with the green
worms or workers, are selected for propa-
CATION. Thus the cycle of this unconseion-
able worm Is completed by these white
larye, whose cocoons in all probability de-
yelop the original fly. They are always
found upon the same leaf with the mOulted
skins. are never seen to feed, and when
touched instantly coil up and wriggle to
the ground The worms that 10 not
moult dry up and die on the leaf 1t is evi-
dent that destroying the whole crop of green
worms would do little to check increase in
the following season. Bat unless one has
neighbors who stick to the old plan of dust
ing with lime or white hellebOre, attention
to the bushes in the way suggested will
make currant worms things Of the past.
it Is sad that on the heels of this cheering
assurance should come intelligence OF a new
destroyer This time 1t Is borer, lively,
quick moving, black, with white stripes
lengthwise, three at each end and one over
the middle. 1t is vet an entire stranger,
but it Is to be hOuei that les than eight
years will elapse before We find ont how to
deal with it.