Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-07-23
THE ARMY WORM is HERE.
is BORN WITH A TERRIBLE Ape
TITE.

IIIE.
On its March Through Grant County Vast
Fields of Golden Grain and Waving Corn
Go Down Before it.
specials by wire to the HERALD)
LANCASTER.
Grant county is suffering from a
new pest this summer. The army
worm made its appearance in this
vicinity last Friday and reports of its
ravages are received from all parts of
the county. The worms are most
numerous and destructive in a strip
of country lying east of the city and
and extending from the Fennimore
prairie south to Rockville. Many of
the same farmers are devastated that
suffered from hail last year.
1t is fortunate that the worms did
not make their appearance earlier.
They seek green food and consequent
ly most crops of small grain will be too
ripe for them. They can be kept out
of the corn if prompt and persistent
measures are taken TO head off their
advances.
Mr.. Charley Belscamper living just
east of the city of Lancaster has had a
large field ST oats entirely ruined and
the voracious army has now laid siege
to his corn field.
On Tuesday last he set fire to the
oat field and burned about half of it.
The places where the fire was hot
enough to kill the worms but not con-
sumo them are sight worth seeing.
Millions of them lie curled up on the
ground, many are wounded and un-
able to get away while in favored
punches of lodged grain which the fire
did not reach, the ground has COM
plete carpet of wriggling gray.
The line of march from this field
seems to be north into corn field.
Already "wednesday morning) they
have taken possession of a hundred
rows or more next to the oat field and
are still advancing.
They are big eaters and the best is
what they demand. They crawl to
the head of an oats stalk, eat it off in
about five minutes, slip down that
straw and up another quicker than
you can say Jack Robinson" still as
hungry as tramp that hasn't had
drink for three days.
OF corn they simply eat the green
leaves but are so greedy that a score
of them will ruin stalk in day or
two. 1t is said that on corn that has
begun to ear the worms eat first the
newly formed kernels.
The action of the worms in Mr..
Belscampcr's field is but sample of
what they are doing in all the pest
ridden district
We have received by wire the fol-
lowing reliable reports:
FENNIMoRE
The army worm is working in the
district east and south of here Dur
ing the last few days they travelled
over and destroyed a strip OF county
two miles wide running from the farm
of VIM. Marsden toward this village
as far as the Byerly farm. A peculiar
thing happened with the army of
worms. When they reached the pub
lie highway near town they came to.
the center of the road and then turned
sharply about and crawled back again
over the track just travelled. The
worms travel and work in the night.
They crawl up the stalk of grain and
eat off the heads.
SITTER.
The army worm is working little
here close to town but has not yet
done much damage. Great armies of
them are at work at Preston. At the
Dwight Parker place, owned by Albert
Spencer, q miles north of here, the
pests are at work in a beautiful field
of corn containing 100 acres. and peo-
pie coming in from that locality report
that the roads are covered by the
worms crossing to new fields. The
worm is also at work in Gregory Hol-
low, and we have word that there are
none ut Animation.
ROCKVILLE.
At the Geo. UT place and at Levi
Gamers and other places all around
here, the worm started in last Friday