Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-04-22
The Gray Cut-Worm.

The HERALD was the first journal to
call attention to the ravages of the gray
worm, familiarly known as the nocturnal
cut worm, because it works in the night
and cuts off the branches which it does
not need for food.
In 1873 they appeared in the San Ga.
briel Valley and commenced eating the
buds that were starting on budded or
ange trees, They We're stopped in the
orchard of Hon. j. +. Crank by wrapping
the trunk of the tree with paper, and
coating the paper with coal tar. Since
then they have been uademonstrative,
until this year when they have reap
peared in greater force and are doing
very destructive work.
1t has been stated that they lived and
moved and had their being on the rank
altilerilla that grows up in vineyards in
winter when the plows and cultivators
are not kept at work. But this theory
is set aside by the fact that they have
appeared in the vineyard of N. G. Car
ter, where they gobbled twenty acres of
new vineyard, in the old vines of Mr..
Albert Brigden, VIM. Allen and Mr..
Crank, all of whose vineyards are per-
fectly clean OF alilerilla and weeds, and
yet the creatures come out OF the earth
in the night and do their deadly work.
Theologians in speaking of atllictions
quote the poet job 49, Does trouble
spring out of the ground" The vine
yardists who are supporting new "Diet
of Worms" think it does and they wish
it would stay out. The methods of kill
ing them are crude and various. Mr..
Crank shut some OF them up and fed
them on insect powder, which they ate
cheerfully and grew fat. The Orange
vintners go ont at night with lanterns
and by flank movement catch them
and put them in pals for destruction,
bu. the operation is slow and expensive.
A shotgun and teel-trap would be
still more expensive.
The same worm used to destroy the
corn and cabbage fields in Central New
York. l: also appeared in the great
gardens between Richmond and Norfolk,
Virginia, where the gardeners would lay
l chip under each cabbage and the
worms would each morning hide under
the chips, which the workmen would
take up in the day time and scoop up
the worms with a fire shovel. In a vine.
yard Of million vines in Los Angeles
this plan would be somewhat burden
some.
The enemy is here in force, and must
be dislodged. 1t must be caught and
put under glass, and fed on exhilirating
food, such as sulphur, paris-green, rhu
barb, carbolic acid, whaleoil soap, nj
trate Of silver and other precious article,
sf diet, to ascertain what particular fooC
produces the shortest life of this danger
gus creature.
1t is also imperatively necessary thai
earth with the worms therein should b,
placed under glass and the fact showl
what kind OF moth the worm is trans
lated into, 50 that the moth may also b,
destroyed may be that the mott
can be killed more easily than tn
worms. Ii so the moth is the victim
. that We are to fight. Experiments shoult
: be made by all the viueyardists to know
what is the most eicctual remedy agains
this dreadful pest, which must be extei
F.. minated at all hazards. The worm is n
D respect,r Of varieties of grapes, but take
{ all alike, Mission. Muscat, Blaue Elbe
and Others. Fineyardists are requisite
to state the appearance, habits an
transformation OF the worm aud thei
experience in getting rid of it,