166 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



may vary quite widely from these dates, according to the season, lo- 

 cation, and the surroundings. Their first and last visit is compara- 

 tively harmless, but their Jul}' call is the destructive one. When full 

 grown, the vine worm is about three-quarters of an inch long, a little 

 less in size than the telegraph wire, — the body a light smok}' color, 

 with a blackish head, and almost exactly' of the size and appearance 

 of the worm that eats the berr3^ Man}- think them the same, but I 

 am very certain the}' are not. The worm that eats off the stock is 

 not usually ver}' troublesome. I have never known them to eat after 

 the first and second year, — they seem onl}' to operate while the vines 

 are young and the ground is soft. 



The second from the same gentleman. He says : — 



. Harwich, Jan. 19, 1882. 

 Friend Babbitt : — Yours at hand and contents noted. I think 

 you have been veiy fortunate in being without the j^re worm so long. 

 I have had them to contend with on some of m}' bogs about every 

 year since I have been in the business. When I have water, so that I 

 can flood at any time, I have no trouble in destroying the worm^ 

 The fire or vine worm, and the berrv or fruit worm, are entirol}' differ- 

 ent worms, notwithstanding they look much alike. The fire worm 

 is from the egg of a little gray miller, and is deposited on the under 

 side of the leaf, and the first crop of them, where the vines are out of 

 the water, commence hatching and eating soon after the vine starts, 

 sa}^ from the 10th to the last of May, according to the situation of the 

 bog and forwardness of the spring; this crop is not often very inju- 

 rious or destructive . They work about two weeks, then go down into 

 the ground or dead foliage, and come up again in the miller state, and 

 leave their eggs for the next and most destructive crop, which begin 

 their work about flowering time, which with us is about the 10th ot 

 Jul)' ; so much for the habits, etc., of the insect. Now to kill them. 

 When you have plentj' of water, and can flow in a few hours, I should 

 let the water off the 15th or 25th of May, and put it on again for a 

 night or oo at a time up to the 10th of June. You can't flood again 

 after letting the water off. I think it is best to keep the water on pretty 

 late, say to the 5th or 1 0th of June, until the water gets warm enough 

 to destro}' the eggs. In some situations, when the water remains cold 

 from springs, this method fails to produce the cure, and if the water 

 is kept on too long or too late the vines will not flower. In two in- 

 stances I have kept the water on until the middle or last of August, 

 — of course no crop that year, but the best I ever had the next, and 

 good several 3'ears after. The water on so long during the hot sum- 

 mer seemed to destroy all the enemies of the berry and vine. 



