The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1914-06-04
Wire-WOrms.

Wire-W Worms.
Many inquiries are coming in to the
N. D. Experiment Station regarding
the wirs-worm.
The wire.worm, which is the larval
stage Of q small black beetle, ia of q
ysllowish brown color with . shining
surface and a diameter about equal to
that sof a wheat straw just below the
head. Its length depends upon the age
of the larva. It lives for three years
in the ground in the larval stage. Dur
ing the first sason it attains q length
of hve-eighths of IN inch and is light
in color, being almost white whom first
Matched from the egg and it gradually
takes on q yellowish tinge. The Sec
ond season they are still darker in
color and somewhat larger in diane
ter. By the end of the second season
they are nearly an inch in length. At
the beginning Of the third season they
have changed but little in appearance,
being somewhat larger in size. Dur
ing this sason they go into the pupal
stage, emerging later or d beetles.
The BEETLES select grass lands, or stub
BILE lands that have lain barren for q
year, in which to lay their eggs. The
eggs hatch in the fall and the insest
hibernates in the larval stage. II this
land is put into any kind of q grain
crop in the spring the rwire-worms will
eat the germ out of the kernels just as
they are sprouting. They are espe-
cially injurious in this manner to corn
and wheat.
Some of the farmers this spring have
complained of a complete destruction
by wire-worms of the wheat that is
grown on timothy sod. During the
early part of the season the wire
worms keep within two or three inches
Of the surface of the soil. or at tn .
depth 1t which the grain is sown. At
ter the first of June they go to a great
or depth, feeding then upon the roots
Of the plants and doing comparatively
little damage.
The question naturally arises as to
what can be done to fields where corn
and wheat have been destroyed. It has
been found that lats.sown millet or
barley does not suffer much from the
wire-worm, v on land where wheat
had been completely destroyed. This
is in part due to the fact that the wire
worms ara working deeper in the soil,
and possibly also to tho further fact
that they prefer wheat to barley and
millet.
AS the wire-worms are not disposed
of in any one season it Is equally inn
portant to know what to SOW after the
millet or barley are taken off. The
land should then be plowed and put in
shape for winter rye. This should be
seeded during the latter part of Au-
gust, or as DOR as the harvest is oyer.
At that time tho wirs:worms are still
deep down in the soil and are not like
ly to damage the crop materially
Where wire-worms are not too abun-
dant potatoes have baen considered q
safe crop to grow, but last year and
the year before we received complaints
Of wire-worms having practically des-
troyed the potatoes by boring into
them in the fall. They seem to be
more active during the early spring
and fall than through the midsummer
season. There is no treatment of any
kind that will diminish the number of
wire-worms In the soil. The only way
is to grow crops not affected by them,
and sow at 9 time of the year when
wire.worms are least apt to attack
terminating seeds, It should also be
kept in mind that grass or stubble
land that has been SLOWED to become
wsedy and grassy, is pretty sur to
contain wire-worms if there are any in
that part Of the country. II the grain
is looking poor it would be we'll to dig
down four to Ave inches, carefully ex-
amining the soil for wire worms.
G. B. WALDRoN,
N. D. Experiment. Station.
For an Impaired Appetite.
To improve the appetite q n d
strengthen the digestion try Q few
doses of Chambsrlain's Tablets. j.
a. Sets, Detrott, Mich, says: ''They
restored my appetite when impaired,
relieved me of . bloated feeling and