St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-07-22
The Sort Ct a Reptile the Army Worm Is.

As description of the appearance
| and habits OF this worm, as well as the
! methods OF destroying it, will undoubt-
| eddy be interesting to many readers, we
| make few extracts from a letter writ
ten by a correspondent in Tennessee for
the C"it'oat0r and Country Gentleman.
He begins the letter by saying that the
prospect for good corn and wheat crops
is very fine, but that farmers are not
content, saying:
1.-The army-Worm has come, and we
will be ruined. The army-worm origi-
mates in old meadow lands more particu-
larly, and where there are no meadows
in a neighborhood I hear of no worms.
They travel from the meadows to the
wheat, oats, rye, barley and corn. Ii
the wheat, rye and barley are past the
bloom, and making the grain when at
tackled by the worm, the grain is Oft
ener benefited by being stripped of the
blades than injured. Oats, If attacked,
are generally ruined-so is the corn;
both being very tender plants, the
worms go for them heavily. | will de-
scribe the worm for the benefit of those
who are unacquainted with him: He is
bald-headed well-formed, black body,
with two rather yellow than white
stripes from head to tail. When full
grown it is a fourth less in size than
common pencil, and when ready to de-
post his cotton is rather yellow, and is
very clumsy or slow, but in almost con-
slant motion and very hungry, eating
rapidly until he disappears. Where he
goes do not know; he simply goes out |
of sight. find no holes that he goes
into, and do not find him dead on the
ground. Where does he go to?
walked the ditch two hours this evening
and the foregoing is the best descrip-
ton | can give you
He is, L might say, rather an inno-
cent-looking worm, and has not the
hldeous look of the cut and measuring
worms. The workmen upon my farm
have been giving him battle for four or
five days. First between my wheat
field and meadows, and corn field and
we ditched, throwing the
earth out on the meadow side, and
making the side next to the wheat or
corn santing under, so that when the
worms come into the ditch, which they
do by the thousands and millions, they
attempt to crawl out on the corn and
wheat side, and fall back, and when
in the ditch we hitch mule
81 horse to a small log Of wood and
draw it up and down the ditch and
nash the army to death. With a little
care they never pass the ditch. As |
before stated, they never originate in
he wheat or corn field unless the
wheat has been sown on an old meadow
But if they do get into the wheat. then
here is only one mode of fighting them, !
nd that is by the old Virginia mode. The
worms crawl up the stalk and strip the
lades off up to the head, if you will
tand idly by and permit them to do so. ..
o prevent this is almost too cheap and
nipple to relate. The worm is very 5
lumsy, and the least shock precipitates
i'm to the ground, and while there he :
oes little or no damage
'Take rope from fifty to 100 feet :
length and weight in the middle, and !,
ut man or boy at each end of it and I
IT them pass the rope over the field l
nee a day SO long as the worm lives, I
rhich is usually ten days, and you will J,
ave the field from injury. The fat fell =
'ws are never to make second trip .
P the stalk; one trip with the rope is ;
lfficient with that crop. A repetition r
this operation once day for ten !.
avs will save the crop; and it is easier II
nd cheaper than ditchi1ig. I have II
lcceeded in keeping them so far out of
y wheat; so | have no occasion TO use s.
le rope practice, but others are using "
every day, including Sunday, and re- tt
ort success" Ii
r,