Sharp County record., 1915-08-27
ARMY WORM MAY
VISIT THIS STATE
Farmers Should Be Prepared to Meet
Invasion by This Pest With Pois-
oned Bait of Araenate Of Lead.

Those of us who have had trouble
in 1912 with the grass worm will take
warning in the fact that this insect
is busy this year in Texas and is very
likely to work its way northward.
The ravages of this insect are l"~gely
to be ayerted through intensive culti-
walton and the use of arsenate of lead
and poisoned bait.
The full grown grass worm or fall
army worm as it is often called, is
about one and half inches long. 1t
is of a pale yellowish brown or black
color, being mottled and streaked
with yellow. On each side of the abb
domen there is a broad waving band
of yellow, mottled more or less with
reddish On its head there is yell
low inverted "Y."
Feeds on Corn and Sorghum.
The grass worm is essentially a
grass pest, feeding upon our various
wild grasses and upon our tame
grasses, including corn, sorghum,
Johnson grass, Sudan grass, millets,
etc. 1t is also very fond of alfalfa,
and will feed upon cotton when
grasses are not readily available.
Particular care must be taken to
keep the late corn and cane well cul-
tivated. 1t might be said in this con-
nection that many fields of corn were
lost in 1912 on account of poor cult
vation The worms will feed upon
crab grass which is allowed to grow
up in a field, and will later turn their
attention to the main crop. Aside
from this, the importance of cultiva-
tion will become apparent when it is
known that the worms enter the
ground for the purpose of transform
ing to the pup9 stage. By cultivat-
ing, fifty to ninety per cent of the
worms in the ground can be killed,
thus preventing a heavy emergence of
moths which would otherwise deposit
eggs for a larger generation.
Use Arsenate of Lead.
Where the worms have made their
appearance in a corn field it is ad-
visable to dust with arsenate of lead
at the rate of three to five pounds per
acre, the latter being mixed first with
two or three times its weight of cheap
flour The material is applied in the
same way that cotton is busted for
the army worm.
Where corn is to be used as fodder,
busting with arsenate Of lead would
be attended with danger. In such an
event a poison bait can be scattered
broadcast on the ground where the
worms are at work. This might be
applied at the rate of seven pounds
per acre
Poisoned Bait.
Poisoned bait can be made as fol-
lows: Mix one hundred pounds Of
wheat bran with two to three pounds
og Paris green and after the poison
has been uniformly worked into the
bran, work the matter into thick
dough with three to four gallons of
molasses, to which has previously been
added the juice OF six lemons or or
anges This material will then be
ready to apply
Alfalfa fields which are infested
should be Immediately cut where this
practice can be resorted to without
injury to the plants After the hay
has been removed, one may apply
poisoned bait, or else the worms may
be killed by taking q number Of folds
Of chicken wire, weightlng this down
with q section harrow and dragging
II over the infested field
Where fields are threatened by mi
grating worms they should be sur.
rounded by a deep furrow. Worms
which fall into this furrow can be
killed by dragging q log back and
forth as long as the migrating Is TAX
ing plaee,--George j, Baker, Professor
of Entomology, Arkansas College Of
| Agriculture.