REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AXD BOTANIST 219 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



' Morden, Man., June 21. — Since the rains came, the operations of the worms are 

 not so noticeable, but I found tbem recently as plentiful as ever in my garden, and a 

 good many small ones also which appear to have been recently hatched.' — J. F. 

 Galbraitii. 



I visited Mr. Galbraith's garden at Morden on July 1 and had an opportunity of 

 seeing the great destruction which had been wrought by the cutworms among peas, 

 cabbages, cucumbers and other vegetables. At that time there were none of the in- 

 sects to be found, and Mr. Galbraith and others in the same place were of the opinion 

 that they disappeared about June 20. Some Indian corn, which appeared above tha 

 the ground after that date, was growing vigorously and had not been touched. 



Telegram. — ' Miami, Man., June 10. — Brownish cutworms destroyed oat fields. 

 Will it be safe to resow immediately with barley ? Worms still numerous. Wire.' — - 

 Tuos. Renwick. 



Reply. — ' Do not resow for ten days, am writing.' — J. Fletcher. 



After telegraphing the above reply, Mr. Renwick was written to for specimens, 

 and advised to watch the development of the cutworms, and not to sow until some of 

 them were seen to be changing to chrysalids. The poisoned bran remedy was also 

 recommended. 



' Miami, Man., June 15. — I send you cutworms now. I looked carefully, but 

 could not find a single chrysalis. The worms are still numerous, but the weather is 

 now damp and wet, and they appear to be cutting the grain off a little above the sur- 

 face, instead of below it as in the dry hot weather, so I do not think they will now do 

 so much damage. A good deal of seed grain has been lost by re-sowing too early. Ono 

 farmer had TO acres of wheat destroyed. He re-sowed at once with wheat and also 

 lost it. On my own adjoining farms the worms do not touch the wheat, although 

 numerous in the ground. Another farmer sowed a mixture of wheat and oats for 

 feed ; the worms took nearly all the oats. On the same farm a five acre patch was com- 

 pletely cleared in the centre of an adjoining wheat field. It looks as if there were two 

 varieties at work, one of which will not touch wheat. I have farmed here for twenty 

 years and never before sustained any damage from cutworms. Do you think they will 

 be likely to recur again ? I notice they also eat barley, which is only now coming up, 

 since the rains came.' — Tuos. Rexwick. 



'Brandon, Man., June 21. — The Director wishes me to send you specimens of 

 Borne cutworms which are doing a lot of damage here this year. I am mailing you 

 under separate cover one feeding on flax and another on oats ; the loss from the ona 

 feeding on oats is quite serious. Southern Manitoba papers are full of accounts of 

 the loss in oat fields, and Sir Wm. Van Home's foreman at Selkirk writes me that 

 he has lost nearly all his oat crop from their ravages, over 100 acre3. We have only 

 lost four plots of oats of one-twentieth of an acre, and two plots of flax. They are 

 etill working at the flax but have about stopped on the oats.' — S. A. Bedford. 



' Winnipeg, December 10. — So far as I have been able to learn, the damage occa- 

 sioned by the ravages of the cutworms in oat fields occurred mostly in the Balmoral 

 district, north of Winnipeg, and throughc t Springfield, ca?t of this city.' — Geo. 

 Bat no. 



Remedy. — The well known poisoned bran remedy was about the only one which 

 could have been used effectively against such an outbreak as that recorded above. This 

 could certainly have been used with much advantage in gardens. For field practice, 

 probably the best course in such an exceptional visitation was that adopted by Mr. 

 Renwick, viz., to watch for the date when the cutworms become full grown and then 

 re-sow the land either with a crop for green feed or late roots. When grain has been 

 sown on stubble in the West, turning the land down for summer-fallow would be ad- 

 visable. 



