REPORT OF TEE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST 183 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



advisability of ploughing down deeply all tops which are cut from the roots at the time 

 of harvesting in autumn, so as to destroy the eggs. In fields of cabbages, where also 

 eggs are laid, the same practice should prevail when the cabbages cannot be fed 

 or are too poor to store for feed purposes. The leaving of poor or imperfectly de- 

 veloped crops in the field until the following spring is always a dangerous practice 

 from the point of view of those who study insect attacks. Not only may the crop have 

 been reduced to its worthless condition by the attacks of insects which will pass the 

 winter safely among the plants; but, even on well developed plants, there are always 

 certain natural enemies the presence of which is detrimental to the farmer and gar- 

 dener. Whenever possible, all haulms, vines, stems and foliage should be fed to stock ; 

 but, in the few cases where these are useless, they should be ploughed down into the 

 soil to decay or be burnt, and, when this can be done in autumn, it is far better than 

 waiting till the following spring. Many insects and fungous diseases are thus destroyed 

 or placed where they can do no harm, and much time is saved in spring in having the 

 land in a condition to start work at once. 



Cutworms. — These troublesome caterpillars have, as is usually the case, been more 

 or less destructive to field and garden crops everywhere ; but in Nova Scotia and Prince 

 Edward Island almost every report mentions their depredations, and the ofiieial crop 

 reports from these provinces show that considerable harm was done in almost every 

 covmty. Such specimens as were received at the Division were the Red-backed Cut- 

 worm (Paragrotis oclirogasier, Gn.). The same species was the one responsible for 

 most of the harm done in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. In Ontario it was accom- 

 panied by the Dark-sided Cutworm (Paragrotis messoria, Harr.), which was enormous- 

 ly abundant in some places at Ottawa. Here also in restricted localities the so-called 

 Climbing Cutworm (Paragrotis scandens, Riley) was troublesome in sandy fields. At 

 Regina and Calgary, IST.W.T., the species which did harm in gardens was Chorizagrotis 



auxiliaris, Grt., the large caterpillars of 

 which resemble the Red-backed Cutworm in 

 a general way, and are equally omnivorous, 

 destroying all kinds of succulent plants. 

 The moths of C. auxiliaris, Grt., as well as 

 of the allied C. introferens, Grt., and C. 

 agrestis, Grt., both of which, possibly, are 

 only varieties of C. auxiliaris, Grt., have 

 been taken in large numbers at Millarvill»% 

 20 miles south of Calgary, by Mr. F. H. 

 Wolley-Dod, and by Mr. T. N. Willing, at 

 various places north and south of Regina. 

 Fig. 8.-The Climbing Cutworm : ^^ Vancouver Island the species which was 



moth and caterpillar. most troublesome proved to be Paragrotis 



perexcellens, Grt., which was very much commoner than it had been for some years. 

 In 1885 it was a perfect plague in market gardens around Victoria, and in 1888 speci- 

 mens were also sent to me, which were at that time incorrectly identified and men- 

 tioned in my report for 1888 as an allied species, under the name of Agrotis ohelis- 

 coides, Gn. 



All of the species mentioned above have the same feeding habits and would bo 

 controlled by the same measures, which are: The removal from gardens or fields, as 

 early as possible in the autumn after crops are reaped of all refuse, and the cultiva- 

 tion of the land so as to prevent the deposition of eggs. This takes place during 

 jAugust and September, and some of the eggs, if not all of them, remain unhatched 

 until the following spring; therefore, late fall ploughing, or early spring ploughing, 

 by which the eggs were buried deeply would be beneficial. When in large numbers, 

 these caterpillars, like most other cutworms, wander long distances at night 

 in search of food. Therefor^, it is necessary to make some direct application 



