The Green Forest tribune., 1912-08-02
PEST IS A MENACE
 ID THE PLANTERS
Expert Makes Trip Over State And Sees Damage Done
 By Worms.
METHOD OF DETERMINATION
Great Loss-Agricultural De- partment Advising.
Western Newspaper Union News Service.


 Western Newspaper Union News Service.
 Little Rock.-The Arkansas farmer is threatened by a new insect pest this year and only hard work will prevent great damage being done to the cotton and corn crop, according to experts connected with the agricul- tural experiment station of the Uni Yersity of Arkansas. The enw pest is the fall army worm or the grass worm, as it is most commonly known.
 G. C. Becker, acting entomologist of the agricultural experiment station of the state university, who has just completed a tour of part of the state for the purpose of studying the in. sect and making recommendations as to how it may be successfully combat ted, declares that the worm has ap- peared, apparently, in almost every part of the state and has already in. flicted great damage He states that further loss can be prevented, to a large extent, by the exercise of cer. tain measures by the farmers, but he asserts that unless these precautions are taken inestimable damage will be done
 The fall army worm has been known to exist in the South for more than 100 years, but it is only occasionally that it becomes a menace to the farm, CTS of the country. There has been no official record of any serious dam age from the pest in Arkansas before the present year. Complaints had been l received at the agricultural expert ment station from points in various parts of the state of the damage in flicted by the worm this year and in order to determine how serious the damage has been and to determine what means could best he adopted. destroy the pest Prof. Beckt
 made a trip over a part of the NSs.
 Prof. Parker states that he believes l the worm is at work in practically all of the low lands of the state but that it has not appeared, so far as is known, 1 in the higher lands, The worm has preyed mostly upon the corn but has also damaged cotton to a considerable extent in certain parts of the state. l The worm only eats the cotton stalks, however, when it has no other vegeta- tion upon which to feed, according to Prof. Becker, and for this reason the damage to the cotton has not been | extensive.
 To much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of clean culture,' he declared. T found that wherever there was the greatest infesta' ion the cause could be traced generally to the poor culture. Where grass is al- 1 lowed to grow in a cotton field, fe- male moth will be attracted and will deposit eggs. After matching, the young worms will eat the grass and when this is gone they will go to the cotton. The same thing is true to a larger extent of corn for corn forms a more natural food for the worms than does cotton,
 As to the methods that should be adopted to destroy the pest, Prof. Becker, said:
 "Arsenate of lead powder should be applied to the cotton field In dust ing this on the plants, it should be ap- piled undiluted at the rate of five pounds to the acre. Care should be taken to get the powder on so that the poison gets in on the stalks and branches of the plant. Paris green should never be used where it is pes sible to get arsenate of lead, az the former is apt to burn the foliage. Where the planter cannot get arse nate of lead he should use paris green. diluted with equal parts of flour and lime. Since flour does not correct the burning property of paris green, it is well always to add the lime. The paris green-lime-four mixture should be ap- piled five pounds to the acre.
 As far as possible" he says, avoid giving the moths favorable place to breed, such as unused grass lands, as grasses, cereals, etc, to the crops which are most affected, it is advis- able not to plant wheat, corn or any other cereal in pasture lands unless a crop not so subject to infestation in- | tervenes. This fall the planters should go over all infested lands and 1 burn them over. After this they | should blow such lands very thorough ly Burning and blowing for this pest may be done in the early spring, but l it must be early. The object here is to burn and bury the wintering pupae before they emerge ill the spring as moths.'
 Tt is up to the farmer to get busy,"' Prof. Becker said. "The grass worm has appeared generally throughout the state, it is apparent from reports which We have received, and the only way in which it can be exterminated is through energetic action On the part of the farmers. If all the farm CTS who are suffering from the pest will act at once and follow the in- structions which We are giving, the pest can be controlled and little dam age will be done. It is just question of getsirg the farmers to act aid tu act quickly"