Indian Corn, or Maize 123 



known as white-grubs are often a pest in corn fields. They feed 

 on the roots of the young plants. It has been found that they 

 are less numerous in fields that are kept in sod only a short 

 time than in old sod fields and the remedy, therefore, is a short 

 rotation for the grass crop. Fall plowing is also an aid as 

 it exposes the grubs to the weather and destroys the plants 

 they would feed on in early spring. 



Corn ear-worm. An insect known as the corn ear-worm 

 that is about one and one-half inches in length and varies in 

 color from green to brown does considerable damage to corn. 

 It is the same as the cotton boll-worm. The worms are covered 

 with stripes of practically the same color as the body and on 

 each segment are eight black spots from which short hairs ex- 

 tend. This worm is the larva of a large, grayish moth which 

 usually lays the eggs on the silk or leaves of the plant. The 

 larvse feed principally on the tip of the ear and destroy the 

 grain, doing damage by providing a place for mold, rot, and 

 grain-weevils to enter the ear. They sometimes feed also on 

 the upper leaves of the plant. These worms when on sweet 

 corn very much lessen its value. No very effective remedy 

 has been found, although it is claimed that late fall plowing 

 helps to reduce their number. 



Grain-weevil. A serious pest of corn, especially in the 

 South, is the grain-weevil. The insects attack the matured 

 grain in the fields and also in the crib after the corn has been 

 harvested. Not much can be done to stop their work in the 

 field, except to resort to late planting and to decrease the num- 

 ber of ear- worms. Early varieties of corn are more susceptible 

 than late ones. To combat the insects in stored grain, fumiga- 

 tion with carbon disulfide is employed. This is a liquid that 

 evaporates quickly when exposed to the air; in the gaseous 

 form it is heavier than air and for this reason should be placed 

 at the top of an inclosure to be fumigated. Tight bins are 

 necessary. For shelled corn twenty pounds of the carbon disul- 

 fide is used for each thousand cubic feet of space in the inclosure 



