The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-06-18
HOW HANCOCK COUNTY WON
II Took as Much Skill and Work as
Resisting an Invasion OF Huns,
but Commander Lloyd
was Successful.


The story Of the campaign against
the invading army Of worms IN ad-
joining Hancock county, Illinois, n
of particular interest to Lee county
farmers just now.
It Is real story, as Interesting as
that Of any campaign In military his
tory. The first farmer who found the
army worms telephoned the county
agent instantly, and in an hour the
latter was on the ground. He then
secuted the county and found two
more points Of invasion by the army
worm.
Then he started at once hts own
campaign against the invaders. BY
Telephone and mail. he issued direc-
lions and warnings, he used all the
newspapers for detailed information
and urgings that the farmers get
busy. He organized a Quartermas-
tiers department and drained the mar
kets within a hundred miles of Paris
green And he stopped the invasion
and saved the farmers Of his county
enough to pay his salary for his life
time. His own story. too modestly
told, is as follows:
How Hancock RepelIed the Armies.
"The greatest handicap in this
work has been the shortage Of Paris
green. We have bought all Of the
Paris green in the hands OF the
wholesale drug houses in Keokuk,
Burlington, Quincy and Peoria. and
are now forced to use white arsenic,
or arsenate of lead as substitutes for
the Paris green in the poison bran
mixture. We use the same amount
of these poisons as of the Paris
green-one pound of the poison to
TWENTY-FIVE pounds of the bran. Make
I'D the mash as directed in our letter
of June II, being sure, to get IN all
of the fruits and molasses called for
In that recipe.
From all parts OF the county we
ara receiving encouraging reports OF
the good results secured from the
use of the poison bran mixture.
Those who failed, did so because they
cut short on the amount of poison
needed, or the poison was not scat
tered over all Of the infested area.
One case reported to date seems to
indicate that the Paris green used
might not have been up to standard
as this same man later used another
lot of poison with good results
"The men who have the most army
worms are concentrating their EFFORTS
to keep these pests from entering
their cornfields. Where the worms
are migrating rapidly this is being
successfully done by catching them In
post holes dug in the bottom OF
deep furrow with straight eide
which the worms find 1t hard to
climb.
"a number Of men have already
demonstrated the fact that 1t is pos.
sible to clean the worms out OF an in.
tested corn field by use Of the poison.
This poison bait should be scattered
in the evening before shutdown, so
that it will be nice and fresh when
the worms wake up to take on their
evening meal.
IN some of the fields which have
been examined during the last few
days, large number of the worms
are being killed by parasitic flies and
wasps. In some instances as high
as fifty percent of the worms are
found to be infested with these para
sites which are a great aid in get
ting rid of the pests. The entomolo-
gists tell us that we are very I'M
likely to have two infestations in the
same place during the same year
which is probably accounted for by
the fact that the parasites are more
than able TO cope with a second
brood Of worms.
more than ninety percent of the
infestations reported to date have
originated in rye fields. but many of
the worms have Matched out as usual
in Blue grass and timothy. These
were not noticed as early as the
worms in the rye, but they are doing
very serious damage to the pastures
and meadows. In several instances
1t appears that the army worms have
Matched in the wheat and some also
contend that they started In clover
fields where in a few cases they are
proving to be very destructive.
1.-THE majority Of the worms a1tcr
the pupa stage early next week. and
the damage will not be serious after
that time. In the meantime every
effort should be made to poison The
worms and to keep them out Of the
corn especially"