Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1911-10-12
makes the following statement:

ihaAes tue ioiiowing statement:
The small ~variou:sly marked cater.
pillar which is injuring wheat, rye. alfal-
Ia and other field crops is the so.called
rail- army Worm. This pest has three
generations each year though only the
fall brood is of Importance. The unusu.
ally dry sun,ner has permitted the pest
to multiply rapidly without being check.
Ell by disease and parasites. This insect
breeds ordinarily in pastures aud mead.
ows where its work is of little import
ance' But this fall, wheat was sown en-.
tirely too early and when the fall brood
OF moths appeared in September they
found an abundance of Young thrifty
wheat on which they deposited their
eggs and where the caterpillars are now
at work.
This caterpillar will often migrate
when the food supply at hand is all gone
though it does not seem to have roaming
nature of the True Army Worm which
appears in midsummer. 1t destroys all
OF the leaves but is not apt to eat out the
bud or heart Of the young wheat plant
since this is still quite low in the ground.
For this reason, past records seem to
show that a field may be completely
stripped at this time and still come out
and make a perfect crop. I should,
therefore, not advise resolving unless the
buds and roots are found to be actually
dead.
unfortunately, remedies are only par
TALLY effective in controlling this pest.
When it shows tendencies to migrate,
surround the infested area or field with
one or more deep bitches or plowed fur
rows. The wall next to the field to be
protected should be as nearly vertical as
possible. Post holes every few feet in
these bitches will help to collect the cat.
erpillars where they can be killed. When
the ground is level and fairly firm a
heavy roller will crush myriads of the
caterpillars and not %injure the wheat. a
heavy drag can be used to advantage on
fields that have been badly stripped by
the pest, since it is .hen less apt to drag
out the grain. A brush heavily weight
ed has also been used to advantage. The
use of a poison is out Of the question
where they are generally distributed over
a field though it will help where they are
yet confined to a small area.
From samples received by the Coll,
eye of Agriculture it would seem that the
pest will oon have completed its feeding
when it will go into the ground to make
a frail cocoon in wh!sh it pupates and
passes the winter. In Our breeding cages
here they are are going into the ground
and in fact many have already pupated,
SO it is not likely that the pest will on
tinue to be destructive for mor than a
week or two at most. Frost will not ser
iously injure the caterpillars, but it will
hasten their transformation and thereby
check their injury.
This pest has never been known to
appear in such destructive numbers in
any region two years in succession so
that wheat growers may rest assured that
it will not reappear next year unless the
summer is again unusually favorable.
Wheat which has not yet been sown, and
that which is yet small will no suffer
from this pest except perhaps as it may
migrate from other fields. The Hessiau
Fly has often proclaimed very forcibly
against the all too common habit of SOW.
ing wheat too early, but the wheat grow
ers OF Missouri have received still anoth,
er reminder, not soon to he forgotten, IN
the form of the Fall Army Worm"
Inquiries concerning the pest and i'll
formation as to its progress will he gladly
received by Mr.. HaseInan.