The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-01
Army Worm, the
Worst Of Pc SITS
That Levy Trib-.
ute of Millions of
Dollars, Be gin s
March Northward

Just when we look confidently forward
TO the restoration OF peace Il ia
brought home to us that we have got
10 do battle with other kinds of foes
that cannot be halted by threat or the
parade of armed forces. Our antago.
lists this time are hordes Of three
sorts Of insects-the boil weevtl, the
army worm and the cicada or the sew.
enteen year locust. - =
These three pests are likely 20 tax
us very heavily during the present
year unless radical measures are
adopted to arrest their ravaRins ad-
vanees. According TO the United States
Department Of Agriculture the seven.
teen year locust has put in an appear
hnce in nearly every State east OF the
Mississippi River, and the authorities
say that the activities OF these raven.
Gus cicsde are likely to be as far
flung as they were during the summer
made memorable by them in 1863
The public might be Justified in feel.
ing apprehensive OF the welfare Of our
great bumper crop OF wheat were It
not a fact. so the experts say, that
the locust 10 not apt to attack this
staple cereal. Instead. the cicada IL
far more likely to confine its destruc-
five activities to Young fruit trees ana
n the FOLIAGE az shads treAs oensrsiiv
wa may hsye 70 nav mora Tar mr.
rsachas nIuns and anniae hut even
vitbou, the locust tho retailer wou,d
undonhtAdiv Aria excuse for raisi,S his
rharres tnst "a keen In haruo,,v Win
the nrevailine trend toward higher
,ricAe
nut the army worm IL worse
The days may be made hideous with
the incessant cracking din of these
noisy insects, we may md them under
loot wherever We walk in the presence
Of yerdsnt srowths, and Ne ahall have
20 accept as inevitable the upturning
Of lawns beneath which these unwel-
come creatures have been bred. But
all Of these manifestations OF the pests
are economically Of modest signifi-
canoe compared with the devastation,
which may be wrought by the onward
march Of the army worm. It 10 this
insect plague which 10 causing State
and governmental entomologists much
alarm.
From Washington comes the news
that the army worm has appeared
tgain In Texas and that 1t has started
10 work its way northward right
through the regions where our wheat
helds flourish. It isn't a problem OF
ruarding against the vast swarms
which may have their origin in the
Tar South, for those particular worms
will really have but circumscribed
zone Of aggressive movement; the
prime task is to watch for them every
80 g. 80. for ne m noeet
our coal bills, but 1t also favored the
survival of many insects that other
wise would have been killed. There.
fore, with the advent OF warm
weather, millions more than normally
Of these insects are alive and ready
10 multiply their baneful kind.
The army worm is particularly de-
structive to winter wheat. corn, other
cereals, grasses and kindred forage
plants. 1t is known to attack young
corn in a manner similar to the well
known corn-ear worm, the young
larvs deyouring the tender folded
leaves ana, as tno WHINE hhSA e<hoS
In size, they frequently burrow right
into the heart of the forming ear and
destroy II. In the summer OF 1914
the army worm appeared in New York
State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
some sections of New England. and
did a great deal Of harm to veseta-
ton. At that time the army worm
was looked upon as an insect novelty
here. hut its appearance in the United
States actually dates a good many
decades earlier.
Mentioned In i'o''
As far back as 1897 mention is made
in an orstwhile popular natural his
tory Of the army worms hurtful ways
but at that period II had not attained
TO the dignity of a widely destruc-
tive native insect pest. That came
certainly and surely in the course OF
time During the summer and. fall
of 1S45 the army worm busted itself
in Florida, and ten years later 1,
aroused apprehension because of its
widespread ravages. For the nexi
twenty odd years II kept so well within
bounds that 1t attracted no particular
attention, but in 1868, the year of the
e a., ' e..n,. to,. eoa a,d 80. 40,
of damage. From then on the army
worm did more and more injury al
fairly frequent intervals. In 1870 II
carried its campaign into Kansas
"a InAiooo ara d Je7.