Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-06-26
A Pes. that Must be wiped Out.

"Bill Nye," the well known western news.
paper correspondent, tried his hand at garden
ing last summer, but found his seasons work
brought to nought by one big warty toad.
He tells the story with feeling and indigna-
ton:
well, 1 began early TO spade up my angle
worms and other pets to see if they had with
stood the severe winter. / found they had.
They were unusually bright and cheerful
The potato bugs were a little sluggish at first.
but AZ the spring opened and the ground
warmed up they pitched right in and did first
rate. Every one of my bugs in May looked
splendidly. l was most worried about my
cut-wOrms. Away long in April l had not
seen a cut-worm, and began to fear they had
suffered and perhaps periehed in the extreme
cold of the previous winter.
Zone morning late in the month, however,
l saw a cut-worm come out from behind a
cabbage stump and take off his ear.mufT He
was a little stiff in the joints, but he had not
lost hope. l saw at once now was the time
to assist him if had spark of humanity left.
searched every work could find on agri-
culture to find out what it was farmers fed
their blamed cut-worms, but all scientists
seemed to be silent. read the agricultural
reports the dictionary and the encyclopedia,
but they didn'tthrow any light on the sub ect.
l got wild. feared that had brought but
one cut-worm through the winter, and | was
liable TO lose him unless l could find out what
to feed him. l asked some of my neighbors,
but they spoke jeeringly and sarcastically
| know now how it was. All their cut-worms
had frozen down last winter aud they
couldn't bear to see me get ahead.
"All at once an idea struck me. l haven't
recovered from the conclusion yet. 1t was
this The worm had wintered under a cab
bage stalk; no doubt he was fond of the bev-
erage. l acted upon this thought and brought
him two dozen red cabbage plants at 80 cents
dozen. had hit it the first pop. He was
passionately fond of these plants and would
eat three in one night. He also had several
matinees and sauerkraut lawn festivals for
his friends and in a week l bought three
dozen more cabbage plants. BY this time
had collected large group of common scrub
cut-worms, early Swedish cut-worms, dwarf
Hubbard cut-worms and shorthorn cut-worms,
all doing we'll but, still, l thought, a little
hidebound and bilious. They acted lanquid
and listless. As my squash bugs, currant-
worms, potato bugs, ETC., were all doing we'll
without care, devoted myself almost excu-
sively to my out-worms. They were all
strong and we'll, but they seemed melancholy
with nothing to eat, day after day, but cab
bages.
l. therefore, bought five dozen tomato
plants that were tender and large. These l
fed to the cut-wOTms at the rate of eight or
ten In one night. In week the cut worms
had thrown of that air of ennui and languor
that had formerly noticed, and were gay
and light-hearted. got them some more to.
mato plants, and then some more cabbage
for change On the whole, was as proud as
any young farmer who had made success of
anything.
lone morning noticed that a cabbage
plant was left unchanged. The next day it
was still there. was thunderstruck. l dug
into the ground. My eut-worms were gone.
spaded up the whole patch, but there wasn't
one. just as l had become attached to them,
and they had learned to look forward each
day to my coming, when they would almot
come up and eat a tomato plant out of my
hand, some one had robbed me of them. l
was almost wild with despair and grief Sud
denly something tumbled over my foot It
was mostly stomach but it had feet on each
corner. neighbor said il was a warty toad
He had eaten up my summers work. He
had swallowed my cunning little cut-woTms
tell you, gentle reader, unless some way is
provided whereby this warty toad seourge
can be wiped out, for one shall relnquish
the joys of agricultural pursuits When a
common toad, with a sAllow complexion and
no intellect, can swallow up my summers
work, It is time TO pause"