248 Ai^'NUAL EEPOETS OF DEPAETMEXT OF AGFJCULTUEE. 



the Federal appropriation the opportunity for very effective work 

 was lost. The result was that, with the appearance of the moths 

 issuing from untreated or imperfectly treated areas in Massachusetts, 

 there Mas a spread at the end of the fiscal 3'ear, so that at the date of 

 tlie present writing the insect is known to occur over an area of 1,000 

 square miles, extending from the New Hampshire border on the 

 north to the towns of Marshfield and Brockton on the south, and 

 to the Avest into the towns of Lincoln and AVajdand. 



IMuch new and valuable information regarding the habits of the 

 insect was gained during the year, and severisl publications were issued 

 by Federal and State organizations, includhig a Farmers' Bulletin 

 {No. 1046) from the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 giving information as to the best means of destroying the insect in 

 its winter quarters. Several more or less effective means of destroy- 

 ing infested plants were discovered, and it is now being arranged 

 to put these into operation on a large scale immediately after the 

 expiration of the growing season of 1919. Fifteen trained entomolo- 

 gists are now investigating the habits and methods of destroying 

 this pest, and every possible effort will be made to prevent its further 

 spread. 



The Hessian fly. — The annual spring survej^ of Hessian fly con- 

 ditions has recently been completed and indicates plainly that this 

 well-known pest is rapidly increasing in abundance in many locali- 

 ties, and has been responsible for a considerable amount of fallen 

 grain in the States east of the Appalachian Mountains, especially 

 in the Shenandoah and Cumberland Valleys. Reports from the 

 western half of the Mississippi Basin also indicate a distinct increase. 

 Warnings liave been issued through the news service of the depart- 

 ment so that wheat growers may plant at the proper date in the fall 

 of 1919 in order to avoid loss. 



The northern ar^iy worm. — The true army worm appeared in 

 numbers during late May, 1919, in northern Texas, and damage was 

 done to growing grains soon afterwards through Oklahoma, jSIis- 

 souri, Iowa, Illinois, and western Ohio. Tlie usual remedies Avere 

 successfully applied in most of the infested territory. In eastern 

 Indiana a serious local ou.t break was successfully handled by the 

 county farm advisers under advice from this bureau. In this case 

 the poisoned bran bait vras used with excellent effect. 



The southern corn rootworim. — As a result of recent investiga- 

 tions, it lias been found that in large portions of the States of 

 Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina corn planted before 

 March 31 or after May 10 is more or less immune from the attacks 

 of the southern corn rootworm. The Coastal Plain, however, from 

 southern Virginia to Florida differs, and no regulation of planting 

 time seems seriously to affect the insect in this region. 



The ALFALFA WEEVIL. — A succcssful uicthod of spraying alfalfa 

 to destroy the alfalfa weevil has been found, and its efficacy thor- 

 oughly demonstrated in Utah. It is possible to aiH:)ly this method 

 successfully at a cost not to exceed $1 per acre, and serious losses, even 

 to the first crop of alfalfa, can be avoided. This first crop, under 

 previous methods of control, was usually sacrificed. The large- 

 £<:aie use of this method during the early part of 1919 resulted so 



