The Russellville Democrat., 1890-01-23

.sry,
 .sserest
 sonably fuil
 worm, the arch
 fields. For our
 slieiiy indebted to the
 .eport Of the Chronological commission by Prof. Riley.
 The boil worm, heliothis armigei q, has been found on every part of the globe, and has almost as great a range Of food plants as Of localities. h this country it is chiefly mis chievous in corn and cotton. In the Southern States there are already three broods upon corn. Broods lat ter than this prefer the tender bolls of cotton to tue hardening corn Tue moths in the early spring lay their eggs on the blades of corn, and the newly larve begin feeding at once upon the spot of their birth. The eggs of the second brood are laid upon the leaves and upon the sheaths of the tassels, about the middle of May in Texas. This brood feeds upon the leaves, the tassels and upon the young ears. In the newly forming ear they eat the kernels, cob and silk. The third brood follow immediately, and in favorable sea sons are very numerous, and IS the last brood which injures the corn. The eggs afe laid upon the shucks or among the silks. The worms Of the next brood leave the hardened corn and betake themselves almost exclusively to cotton.
 CHARACTERS AND TRANSFORMATIONS The egg of the boil worm is about the size of a mustard seed, conical and of yellowish white color, and can be easily seen on the green back ground of the leaf. The eggs are de. posted on all part of the plant, but more of them are to be found on the under side of the leaves. than in any other situation. During the hot days of July and August most of them will be found on the under side of the largest and darkest leaves. The eggs are generally deposited at or just after twilight, when the moths can be seen Tn great numbers. The period of tha egg state is, in warm weather, from three to five days, and longer in the early spring and late fall months.
 The newly matched boil worm has much the appearance of the young army worm. It is rather darker in color, however. The newly matched worm begins to feed upon the plant where it was matched, whether it be leaf, boil or stalk, but it soon begins to travel, crawling from one leaf to another, until, sooner, or later, it finds yonng boil or bud, and bores into It. The passage of the boil worm into the flower bud is a ire quent cause of the final dropping of the young bud or boil. This is be lieyed to be not only one, but the principal cause of cotton shedding it's squares" As the worm grows, it attacks larger bols, therefore the younger worms are found mainly up on the top crop, while the older ones bore into the older bolls of the mid dle crop, and the bottom crop is sel dom injured by them. After devour ing, or partially devouring, the con tents of one boil, the worm usually leaves it for another; and even though the damage to the boil and
 be small, rain pene-
 rots. In this way a
 damage can be done by e single worm.
 The full grown well developed boil worm averages l.57 inch in length and about .27 inch h diane ter. On arriving at full growth, the worm works it's way to the ground, and choosing spot where the earth is somewhat compact, burrows be. meath the surface and forms a sub cylindrical, straight or sloping gal lery, from three to six inches deep. At the bottom of this the worm transforms to pupa.
 THE IMAGo.
 In general color the boil worm moths vary from dull ochre- yellow to dull green. The markings of the front wings are variable. The rear wiugs are more constant In markings. The position of the moth when at rest is characteristic and easily distinguished from that of the army worm, the latter holding it's wings tightly closed and roof shaped over its back, only the front wings being visible. The boil worm moth carries its wings slightly elevated and slightly open, so that portion of the abdomen and rear wings can plainly be seen. It is impossible to deter mine the number of annual broods, one generation being confused in time with another, so that moths, eggs and worms in every stage of growth may be present at the same time. The boil worm hibernates in the pupa state, in the underground cell before described, and issues forth as a moth early in the spring.
 TIT FOR TAT.
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