54 SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF 



ows, and the eggs do not hatch out till the following spring, it be- 

 comes obvious that burning over grass meadows in the winter or very 

 early in the spring, must destroy most of the eggs. Many instances 

 might be given where, in past years, burnt grass escaped the worm, 

 while all the unburnt grass in the neighborhood was badly infested, 

 and in one instance part of a meadow having been accidentally burnt 

 and part remaining unburnt, the burnt portion in the following sum- 

 mer, had no Army-worms on it, and the unburnt portion swarmed 

 with them. Thus, if you burn your meadows over annually you 

 will seldom be troubled with this pest, and if you get your neigh- 

 bors to do the same thing, and in addition will also burn all the wild 

 grass around you, the Army- worm will never do you any damage. 

 The remedy is so simple that all can apply it. The best time to do 

 this burning, is, as all practical men well know, in the dead of the 

 year, when the ground is frozen ; the roots of the grass are then un- 

 harmed by the fire. Of course, ploughing the land late in the fall or 

 late in the spring, will have the same effect as burning it, for if the 

 eggs are turned two or three inches underground they will surely rot 

 and fail to hatch. Here we see, as in the case of the Canker-worm, 

 which I shall presently treat of, and as in the case of almost every 

 other noxious insect, it is necessary accurately to investigate the 

 habits and puculiarities of each one before we can effectually coun- 

 terwork it. 



During my visit to Hannibal last June, I ascertained that the 

 worms orignated in a large 100-acre field of very rich blue- grass, be- 

 longing to Mr. W. R. Flowerree. This gentleman makes a business 

 of fattening cattle, and intended feeding off the grass in the fall ; but 

 that same blue-grass field had neither been pastured nor plowed the. 

 year before ; and this was the very reason why the worms originated 

 there, as the reader will readily perceive from the foregoing account 

 of the insect's habits. 



The Army-worm when traveling will scarcely turn aside for any- 

 thing but water, and even shallow water-courses will not always 

 check its progress ; for the advance columns will often continue to 

 rush head-long into the water until they have sufficiently choked it 

 up with their dead and dying bodies, to enable the rear guard to cross 

 safely over. I have noticed that after crossing a bare field or bare 

 road where they were subjected to the sun's rays, they would congre- 

 gate in immense numbers under the first shade they reached. In one 

 instance I recollect their collecting and covering the ground five or 

 six deep all along the shady side of a fence for about a mile, while 

 scarcely one was seen to cross on the sunny side of the same fence. 

 Though they will nibble at clover, they evidently do not relish it, and 

 almost always pass it by untouched. They will eat any of the grasses, 

 and are fond of oats, rye, sorghum, corn and wheat, though they seldom 

 devour any other part but the succulent leaves. They often cut off 

 the ears of wheat and oats and allow them to fall to the ground, and 



