The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-05-26

dressed
CROP OUTLOOK.
The grand rain of the 18th has ice
of great benefit to all crops, and hs
put "a season in the ground" whic
gives farmers encouragement.
came rather late for winter sma
grain, but just in time for spring SOW
crops. In both cases straw will b
short, but the grain will be UNUSUAL
heavy. Harvesting is now in flu
swing and the whirr of the reaper
heard on every hand. Rust, the grea
foe to oats, is this year conspicuous b..
its absence. This is due to the excep
tional dryness of the spring, as rus
cannot develop without certain com
bination of heat and moisture.
This section is not claimed as head
quarters for wheat raising, but where
it was planted last fall, the croE
is excellent, the straw being long and
the berries very plump.
Corn is growing fast and just begin
ming to tassel. With no unlocked for
calamity overtaking it, there will be
an immense ylelu.'
Sorghum Is doing well and prom
Uses to supply an abundance of winter
feed. Alfalfa has been cut for the
second time and Is advancing for
third crop.
Cotton is not doing well generally
Under the most favorable conditions
the crop is backward, though clean
and well cultivated. The cut worm
has been unusually prevalent, and
has done more damage than the old
est planter can remember. Many
fields that were chopped out and had
a full stand a month ago,
are being replanted, while
others have had the stand
reduced from 30 to so per cent | have
had several letters from correspond
ents asking the history of the cut
worm and what should be applied.
They will perhaps find the following
short article of interest:
THE COTTON CUT WORM.
There are several varieties of the
cut worm all of them very similar in
their habits. They are all of sombre
color, stout in body, and when dis
turbed coil themselves in a roll. They
are found in every part of the United
States. In the North they generally
raise only one brood year, but in the
South they have two or more annual
generations. Every variety of cut
worm seems to have taste for cab
bage, tomatoes and tender garden
truck but only two or three
are addicted to the cotton
eating habit. The two most
destructive to cotton are the granu-
lated and the greasy cut-worm. The
latter appears to be the one now tor
menting the cotton farmer in this Sec
ton. The greasy cut-worm (Larva
Of Agrotis yrsilon) is described by :
Mr.. Riley az about an inch and half
long, of q dull lead-brown color, with
five longitudinal indistinct lighter
stripes. The underside of the body
is dim greenish-yellow. That is a
close description of the worm in my
fields. AS to remedy for the pest,
the only sure and certain one is to
catch the worm and squeeze the stuff
ing out of it. That is an operation
some force, as it is very
tough in the skin and proof against
pressure from the average finger and
thumb. 1t will even survive consid-
cradle pressure by the foot This
method of destroying the worm
though effective, is too slow and tedi-
Gus to be practicable. No plan has {
vet been devised for preventing the
generation of the larva, it remains
then for victims to use means for their
This can be done in
several ways on a small scale, but
when it comes to fighting the worm
over hundred or thousand acre
cotton field, the matter Is different
and still beyond the power of the
farmer.
An old method of catching and kill
ing the cut worm is to bore three or
for holes, near the base of the pland
to be protected, with smooth sharp
ened stake or iron rod about 2 inches
in diameter. The idea is to form
a trap into which the worm may fall
when out on his nocturnal business.
The holes being deep, smooth and
nearly perpendicular, the worm once
in, must stay there and die from star
walton or be crushed to death by the
re-introduction of the stake. This
plan has been found very effective,
but is only adopted for small areas.
A more practical plan is
to take cabbage leaves, punches
of grass or other vegetation
dip them in solution of Paris green
or London purple. Place these ar
rangements fifteen or twenty feet
apart through the field or garden.
The worms crawl under these traps
and commit suicide Whether 1t will
pay to fight cut worms in scent cotton
must be settled by those in the bust
ness. The farmer is seldom without
some cause for complaint, and the cut
worm is a very real and tangible one.
THE RIGHT WAY TO FARM.
A very common error committed
among farmers is to recommend meth
DDS of culture they have found success
full, without any regard to their pc
culiar conditions and environments.
A very little experience and observa-
ton should teach a man that no hand
and fast unalterable rule can be laid |
down for the cultivation of any
crop for succession of years on
the same field, and that is worse
than foolishness, even presumptive
ignorance for one successful man to |