Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1896-07-15

stripping the fields clean of everything agree-
able to them, and often doing immense dam
age by cutting off plants not satisfying to
their ravenous appetities. This march they
keep up until they have completed their
growth.
The eggs are glistening white in color,
nearly globular, and are stuck in rows of
from 10 20 20 on blades of grass, generally
being hidden under II fold of leaf or he
tween the sheath and the stem. The num-
Der laid by single fema'e varies from 800 to
$50.
After completing its growth which requires
about month, the caterpillar burrows an
inch or two into the ground or conceals itself
in rubbish and soon changes to mahogany
brown pupa. In from two to three weeks
the moth emerges. The moth is of light
reddish brown or dark fawn color, and is of
much the same general shape and size as
most cut-worm moths.
One can quickly recognize it by small
white spot near the center of each fore wing
and by an oblique dash of black extending
from the outer front border of the wing to-
ward this white spot. The hind wings are
dusky in color and are almost black near the
outer margin; on the under side they have a
distinct black spot near the middle. The
moths are nocturnal in their habits, fly rapid
ly, and rarely ascend more than a few feet
from the ground.
| The farmers, which in constantly increas-
ing number have been applying to the agri-
| cultural department for advice and assistance
during the past week, have all been given es-
sentially the same advice.
| They are told that the simplest way to
check the advance of the worms on the up
lands is to pillow furrow around the infested
| fields with the straight side toward the part
to be protected. The caterpillars, not being
able to crawl over the furrow, can be easily
scraped into holes and buried.
| If holes be made with a crowbar at short in
| tervals in the furrow numbers of the cater
pillars will fall into them and may there be
crushed with little trouble. In case of very
| large armies it might be necessary to pillow
| several successive burrows, the earth from
each burying the caterpillars trapped in thu
one before it. Another simple way is to spray
the grass ahead of the caterpillars with paris
green, and another to run heavy roller oven
the ground.
None of these methods would answer on
cranberry bog the first, because of the ma
ture of the surface, the second because tn
caterpillars eat SO little of the cranberry toll
age, and the third because of the wry natur
of the vines.
A fourth method, that of placing obstruc
tions in the line of march is more applicable
The distractions are best made ofplanks o
fence rails placed on edge, end to end, an
close to the ground so as to leave no opening
beneath. This barrier is then thickly smeare
with coal, tar or even kerosene.
Ifcare is taken to prevent the caterpillar
from piling up even with the top of tn
boards and thus forming bridge for thos
behind, this method proves quite etfectua
g Wide, water-flled bitches on bog are, how
ever, the surest means of stopping them, a
? though few, when the army is very larg'
may drift across the stream and becom
lodged on the further side without drowning