Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1919-08-07
prepared by the United States Depart
mani of A oric11It1rra

~NErepdT6Q Dy the united states Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
The army worm has cut a wide
swath this year in the vicinitieS of
Dallas and Fort Worth, Tex. Strenu-
u efforts to prevent it's spread have
been made, and absence of other re-
ports gives ground for the hope that
it may not appear elsewhere this sum-
mer, but United States department Of
agriculture entomologists urge all
farmers in all states east of the Rocky
mountains to remain on the watch for
the pest until cool weather comes next
autumn.
There r usually three generations
Of caterpillars-the form in which the
pest greatly damages crops by feeding
upon them-in a year, but seldom or
never are there two successive out
breaks in any one locality. The in
sects usually appear in the fields very
suddenly, and it seems certain that the
moths-the parents of the caterpil-
lars-at times fly in great numbers for
many miles, in the direction Of the
prevailing winds, and alight in a body
to deposit their eggs at some place
favorable to the development of their
offspring. This fact accounts for the
appearance Of the army worn in re-
gions far removed from any known
source of infestation.
How to Identify Worm.
The full-grown army worm is a
nearly naked, smooth, striped cater
pillar, about one and one-half inch
long. It's general color is usually
~greenisE, and the stripes, M along
each side and a broad one down the
center of the back, are dark and often
nearly black. The stripe along the
back usually has a fine, light-colored
broken stripe running down its cen
ter. The color Of the body between
the dark stripes varies from greenish
to reddish brown. The head is green
ish brown, speckled with black.
"When an army of these worms is
at work in a field" says one of the
publications Of the department of
agriculture, which are not given to ex-
aggeration or to seeking after melo-
dramatic effects, "the champing of
their jaws is plainly to be heard as
they greedily devour every blade in
sight. In this stage the army worm
frequently consumes all of the food
supply near the place where 1t has
developed from the eggs. When such
Is the case the caterpillars mass to-
gether and crawl away in a body in
search Of other food. 1t is this habit
which has gained for the insect the
popular~name Of army worm"
Killing Worms in burrows.
It is the massing together Of the
caterpillars which gives to the farmer
the chance of destroying them In great
numbers. Burrows or bitches are
plowed or dug completely around the
infested area, or directly across the
path of the advancing horde. In at
tempting to cross such bitches the
worms fall into them, and can easily
be destroyed by crushing them with
a log dragged back and forth through
the ditch or furrow. If shallow post
holes are sunk in the bottom Of the
ditch at intervals Of about 20 feet,
the worms will crawl along the ditch
bottoms and fall into the holes, where
they may be destroyed by crushing or
other means. If the subsoil Is Of such
q nature that water penetrates 1t but
slowly, the post holes may be partially
filed with water, with a layer Of coal
oil or petroleum on the top Of 1t. The
oil kills the worms Immediately.
Other Control Measures.
Watchrulness and quick action on
the part Of farmers are essential in
all the control measures, which In
clude, in addition to the ditching
method, the following:
In case of q general invasion. give
the ground a light cultivation, IL pcs
Nible. after the caterplllars have gone