Bridgeton pioneer., 1885-06-25
DANGER TO THE ONION CROP.

'"i tot loF july Will contain the follow
ing article from DR.. George Thurber.
the distinguished horticulturist re-
garding an insect pest, which has sud-
denly made its appearance among the
onion beds of Orange County. New
York, near Goshen. Those engaged
in New York, Connecticut and else
where in this important and growing
industry, will be glad to receive the in
formation contained in this article.
Orange County, New York. formerly
so noted for its dairy products, has of
late years become an important centre
of onion culture. The soil being es-
pecially well suited to the onion. and
the locality remarkably free from in
sect and other enemies. those who have
engaged in the growing of onions have
found the crop very profitable. Of
late an enemy has appeared in force,
which threatens to destroy the onions.
and the profits of the farmers. Mr..
Rudolph Rosenthal, who grows onions
extensively. has just sent us specimens
OF worm" which has proved to be
d..
worms were too young to allow them
to be Unidentified with certainty. but
theirgeneral appearance indicated that
they were one of the several species of
cut-worms, view which was strength
ened by learning that they were known
to work only at night, and that they
cut OF the onion plants just at the sur
face of the ground. There are a dozen
or more different species of cut-worns,
some of which are climbers, and cause
great loss to fruitgrowers by destroy
ing the fruit-buds of the trees. In
their worm" or caterpillar state, they
are nearly all dark-colored and greasy
looking. They are, when full grown.
about an inch and a half long, and
when disturbed, curl up, to form al
most a complete ring. They are the
larval or caterpillar state of several
different night-fying Owlet, or Rustic
Moths. The Moths are all of a dark
gray, or brown color, and when at
rest fold their wings against the body.
the upper pair covering the lower.
This is, perhaps, the most widely dis
tributed of all the cut-worms, as it is
found in nearly every state 1t is also
very general feeder, and is injurious
to many crops, even including tobacco
80 far as could be judged from the
young catefpillars, the one so destruc-
tive to the onions in Orange County
appears 10 be of the species figured.
AS the habits of these insects are so
much alike, it is not of great impor-
tance to know precisely to what SPEC
les the present pest belongs. The
worms make hole in the ground, to
which they retire in the early morn
ing, where they remain quiet during
the day. At night they issue forth on
their work of destruction, and those
which do not climb, cut off young and
tender plants just at the surface of
the soil. They feed upon the plant,
and often drag pieces of the leaves to
their burrows, which leads to their de-
lection. Upon inquiring what had
been done to check the insect in its de-
structive work, We learned that plas-
ter, lime, salt, ashes, Paris green. and
secret poisonous preparation called
Slug had been used with but
little or no perceptible effect. The
most effective method was to collect
the worms at night and kill them.
This, where the area is several acres,
is an almost hopeless task. We
learned that all the above named ar
ticles had been applied to the soil.
rather than to the insects. In treat
ing insects with arsenical poisons, like
Paris green and London purple, the
insect must eat the poison unless it
be taken into the system of the in
sect it will have little, if any effect;
but if a very small particle is eaten,
death soon follows. Doctor A. Oem-
Ter, of Georgia, author of Truck Farm
ing for the South, appears to have
successfully mastered the cut-worms.
Before setting out cabbages, or plant
ing water-melons, cucumbers, etc,
he first clears the field of cut-worms.
After the land is prepared for the
crop, he places turnip or cabbage
leaves, fifteen or twenty feet apart,
each way, all over the field. These
leaves are first moistened, and then
busted on the surface with a mixture
of one part of Paris green and twenty
parts of flour. The leaves are distrib-
uted over the field with the poisoned
surface downward The operation is
repeated after three or four days, two
applications being usually sufficient.
This method has been found most sue
cessful, the crops, which formerly
failed, are now raised with little
trouble from cutworms. Whether
the land intended for onions could be
successfully cleared in this manner
from the cut-worms in time to allow
the onion seed to be sown sufficiently
early, can only be ascertained bv trial
Still, we should expect good results
from placing the poisoned leaves be-
tween the rows of onions. At all
events, we advise that a trial be made.
The femal le insect deposits her eggs in
early spring upon plants, even upon
trees; the young worms, as soon as
Matched, make their way to the ground.
into which they burrow, coming out at
night in search of food. If the onion
ground be kept fallow for one season.
it is quite sure to be free from cut
worms, and this, in the Northern
States where a fallow is not so iniuri
Gus to the fertility of the soil as at the
South, may be the most ready method
of avoiding the cut-worms. Another
method, which is practicable on
bed, if not on a large field, is to cover
the surface with a thick mulch of
litter of some kind, and burn it off.
This will etfectuallv destroy cut-worms
and all other burrowing insects. We
ask our Orange County friends to re-
port to us what SucceSS has attended