30 



The adult is a small nocturnal moth, with an expanse o£ 

 wings of about 1^ inches. The female deposits her eggs 

 usually upon the branches of bushes. As soon as the eggs 

 hatch, the larvae descend to the ground and feed while young 

 upon various plants, usually grass. They are about half- 

 grown when winter comes, and they then seek shelter by 

 crawling under some object or burrowing in the ground. 

 They pass the winter in this condition and come forth in the 

 Spring in search of food. They now attack a large variety 

 of plants. Nearly all garden vegetables are attacked by 

 them. They soon become full grown, and in early Spring 

 enter the ground, and just below the surface turn to the 

 pupa stage. In three to four weeks they turn to the adult 

 and emerge as a moth, the female then depositing eggs for 

 another brood. Some species of cut worms have more than 

 one brood in a year. 



Remedies. — One of the best methods to kill the cut worms 

 is to place clover, cabbage or other leaves upon the soil 

 before the garden is planted; these leaves to be poisoned 

 with Paris green or London purple, either by dusting with 

 the powder or dipping them in a solution of the poison. 

 The worms crawl about in search of food, eat the leaves, and 

 are killed before the cabbage or other plants are up. The 

 cut worms are easily trapped by placing boards on the 

 ground between the rows of vegetables, and killing in 

 the morning the worms that get beneath them during the 

 night. Occasionally the worms can be successfully fought 

 by digging them out of the ground. 



COTTON PLANT. 



COTTON WOEM OE COTTON LEAF WOEM. 



This insect is too well known throughout the cotton grow- 

 ing States to need any description, either of the adult, its 

 habits or its life history. 



