The Opelousas courier., 1888-09-01
A Useful Little Worm.
DESTRUCTION OF COCO GRASS IN
MADISON PARISH.

MADISON PARISH.
MADISON PARISH, Aug. Is, 'SS.
To the Editor of The Times-De-
mOcrat:
The people of Madison parish
have been very much interested
in the last few months in an ex-
pertinent carried on by Mr.. r.
L.. Maxwell upon his Killarney
plantation in the determination
= coco grass. In a trip North
last summer Mr.. Maxwell met a
planter from the West Indies,
who told him of a worm which
in his island had destroyed large
tracts of coco. The worm is
known to scientists as
"Sph0ctaIis vulgaris minor" and
is ola light gray color. 1t lives
by burrowing into the n nut which
it eats for food. This spring
Mr.. Maxwell wrote to the plan
ter in the West Indies and had
him to send him severalhundred
of the eggs laid by the moth
which produces this worm. They
were sent through the post on
blades of grass where the moth
had deposited them, and were
wrapped in wet moss so as to
prevent them from drying up.
When the box was opened seve-
raj of the eggs had Matched and
the little worms were crawling
around in the box. In a few
days about twenty more hatch
ed, but the remaining eggs had
been spoiled by the trip. Mr..
Maxwell took the young worms
to one of his worst COCO patches,
and scattered them on the grass
for a space of about three feet
in circumference.
For about a week no signs of
the worms were seen, and Mr..
Maxwell began to fear that it
had proven a failure, when one
day in examining the spot he
noticed that several of the coco
plants had wilted, and in exam
lining the nut he noticed that
the worm had bored into it and
killed the germ. In looking at
the spot several weeks after this
he noticed many eggs which had
been deposited on the under
side of the blades of the coco
grass; the first patch of worms
hid developed into chrysalii, had
grown into moths and had de-
posted their eggs. In a short
while these eggs Matched and
the worms started upon their
work of destruction. The first
eggs arrived about the middle OF
May, and Ssinee that time there
have been five crops of worms,
each successive crop increasing
at more than ~geometrical pro-
erosion, for every moth will lay
a million eggs. | went over to
Mr.. Maxwell's plantation last
Saturday to see the work the
worms had done and Mr.. Max.
we'll took me over his place and
told me all about them. The
worm after hatehHag follows the
blade of grass down, eating as il
goes, till it reaches the nut, into
which it bores, destroying the
germ. Mr.. Maxwell informed
me that in some eases they Went
two feet in the ground to gel
at the nut. They have done
good work on Killarney planta
ton. In three months time
from a start Of about thirty
worms they Save increased il
such force as to number billions
and have destroyed fully tel
acres OF the grass. In ever,
case where the nut was nea
enough to the surface to put n
leaves the worms have folloWe'
the grass blade down to the M
and destroyed it.
Mr.. Maxwell is very enthnsl
astic over this discovery, He
making arrangements to pre-
!, serve over winter Sufficient egg
and chrysalii to get an earl,
start next year, and he hope
!. thus to destroy all the coco 0
his plantation. Some nuts ma,
90 too deep III the ground to y
J destroyed the first year, but jus
so soon as it sends mp a blade {
grass the worm attacks i an
destroys it. We feel confiden
, that if ne can keep the stock 9
worms alive they will destro
!, the stock Of COCO in this section
and our people are jubllant owe
fhe idea. Mr.. Maxwell informe
: me that he desired to distribut