Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-06-07
CU7WQRMs
How To Control This
Common Garden Pest

OrORO, Me-, June o.-lHe loIloWinS
was issued today from the Maine Agri-
cultural Experiment Station. Charles
D. Woods, director:
Numerous inquiries concerning the
ravages of cutworms on beans, corn
lettuce, cabbage and other garden vege-
tables are received each year by the
Maine Agricultural Experiment Station.
Sometimes writer will wait too long
before making inquiry and since very
prompt remedial action is necessary in
controlling cutworms It is deemed ad-
visable to emphasize their importance
at this time. Doctor Lintner of the
New Jersey State Department of Agri-
culture has estimated that cut-worms
cause American vegetable growers an
annual loss of 100000 and Maine is
not the least of the states affected.
CUTWORM INJURY is very charac-
teristic. The plants are gnawed. or GU;
off. just at the surface or perhaps lit
tie below the level Of the ground and
later in the season the cutworm will
, often climb the plants and injure foliage
and fruit. The depredations begin just
as soon as the young plants appear
above the ground, and continue into
July. Oddly enough we seldom see the
cutworm for he feeds only at night and
buries himself in the ground as soor
as laylght appears although sometimes
he crawls under boards or rubbish. II
YOU should dig for him around the base
of ruined bean plant you would find a
smooth, naked. clay colored curled up
worm-like caterpillar about an inch
lorg.. This is the culprit. Step on him
CUTWORMS ARE THE CATERPIL-
LAR STAGE OF the very common
Miller moths which lowered about
the lamps as long ago as Aesop wrote
his fables and are still to be seen on
summer evenings. 1t is these moths
which lay eggs, generally in grassland
or amongst weeds. from which the
young cutworms hatch in the fall
usually in September. The young cut
worms feed during the fall months on
weeds and grass and then hibernate
during the winter. If this land should
| be plowed in the spring thus depriv-
ing them of food they will be very
hungry when the young plants come
up and Mr. Cutworm is generally right
there waiting and will begin to cut
away the young plant stems. If he Is
left undisturbed he will wax fat and
finally descend into the ground where
he becomes a pupa or motionless bag
in which he changes over to brown
ish or grayish moth, later coming out
to fly about the lamps. II the egg was
laid in grassland, the chances are that
the injury from this insect would not be
suspected for under these conditions
there is an abundance OF his natural
food. If, however. he grew up in what
turned out to be a garden and the gard
ener was a conscientious objector to the
presence of cutworms. then the chances
are that the following old-fashioned re.
ceipt would be used.
CONTROL CUTWORMs with poison
bait. This is very easily made up of
white arsenic (can be bought at any
drug store) some molasses and some
thing such as bran with which to make
a mash. In the old-fashioned formula
wheat bran was used but any stock feed
middlings, meal, old oatmeal, oat bran,
or similar material is almost as good.
Mix the white arsenic and the bran ma
terial while dry and put the molasses
into a cup or a bucket of water to dis
solve. Then add enough of this Sweet
ened water to the bran to make 1t just
moist throughout. Place teaspoonful
at the base mot touching) of each plant
affected and near the base of adjacent
plants Where the damage seems 70
be along an edge bordering a piece OF
grassland, put some down near each
plant along the border.
Use the following quantities: Fol
gardens of acre or less use:
Bran or substitute, one quart.
White arsenic, / teaspoonful.
Molasses, tablespoonful.
Water to moisten.
For one to two acre gardens use:
Bran or substitute), 10 lbs.
White arsenic, ID.
| Molasses. 1 at.
Water, to moster.
For use where a general infestatior