Norwich bulletin., 1916-08-10
LITTLE FEAR FROM
 ARMY WORM INVASION.
County Agent Warner Says He Does Not Believe Pest Will Bother Farm CTS This Year.

That New London county farmers have little to fear from the army worm this year is the belief of County Agent F. c. Warner. The crops are reaching that state where the pests could do but little damage even though they should put in an appearance. And then it is rather late for the worm to appear.
 The army worm has robbed the American farmer consistently in the past, and there is every reason Ot eX- pect that it will continue to attempt to rob him in the future. Unren1itting vigilance in the spring and early sum- mer is his best protection, for it is | characteristic of the worm 10 give no warning of it's approach It appears with great suddenness in fields far re- moved from any known source of in i feStatiOn and is capable of doing great l damage before its presence is detected. Serious inVaSiOns may be made from l any direction, but in general the out l breaks are the cOmmOnest after cold, l backward springs, and the CaterpiIlars i are to be found first in neglected DOT tiOns of the fields among rank growths
 of grasses and lodged and fallen unripe i grain
 | When first matched, the caterpiIlars i are very tiny greenish things which i consume little food. They feed close | to the ground and are so sheltered by | OVerhanging grain and grass that they | y i CT. If he detects the colony at this ] stage, however, he can save himself i much loss by the prompt use of arseni- l cal sprays or by burning straw over i the infested spot. It is far better says 1 W. R. Walton in farmers bulletin 731, | to sacrifice a part of the crop at once l rather than permit the worms to in i crease until they take the whole of it 1 themselves.
 l In from threo to four weeks the tiny ] ic-17 army worm, a nearly naked, smooth, | striped caterpillar, about 1 1-2 inches ] long, with dark stripes along each side | and down the center of the back. The ' color of the body varies from greenish to reddish brown and the head is a l grceniSh brown SpeCkled with black. In this stage the insect is VOraCiOuS beyond belief The tender portions of the leaves, the immature seeds and sprouts, even the plants down to the very ground, are all devoured and the champing of the worms jaws is plainly to be heard as they work their way through the farmers crop. When there is nothing more to eat in that neigh borhOOd the Caterpillars collect in dense masses and march off in search of richer spoil. It is this habir which has given them the name of army worm. It also, however permits the farmer to destroy them in great numbers by | crushing them after they have fallen ] march.
 ; For this purpose the ditches or fur rows should be dug entirely around the ! infested area. Once the worms have ! fallen into these, log may be dragged l back and forth, killing them wholesale. i Shallow post holes, too, are frequently | dug a intervals If 20 feet or so in the | bottom of the ditChes. Crawling along i the bottom, the worms come to these i holes and fall in. In this way great [ s4 i is an easy matter to kill them. One 1 method is to pour water into the holes | and cover it with a layer of oil
 i On infested areas not intended for ! forage spray made of pound of l paris green to 50 gallons of water, or 1 with ? pounds of arsenate of lead to | 50 gallons of water, may sometimes be | used to advantage. Heavy applications | of this solution should be made, and care must be taken to keep stock from gaining access to the poisoned gra ss.
 With tender plants ? pounds of freshly
 slaked lime should be added to the
 mixture to prevent burning.
 Still another popular method of con-
 | trOl is the use of poisoned baits. An
 efficient one may be prepared from 50
 pounds of wheat bran, 1 pound of paris
 green, or ? pounds of arsenate of lead
 and the juice of half a dozen oranges
 or lemons. Low grade nolasses is then
 added to bring the mass to a stiff
 dough and the mixture scattered
 broadcast. This can be done safely in
 alfalfa and cornfelGs that are to be
 used for forage.
 The best method of all, however, is
 to catch the worms before they have
 had a chance to become fuli grown and
 to spread over any wide area. The
 fields Of growing grain and grass
 should be searched carefully, especially
 the meadows planted in millet tino- . thy and blue grass. The thicker and longer the growth, the more likely the worms are to be present, and the hard