GRAIN CROPS 131 



in search of food. They now attack a variety of 

 young plants, biting off the stems and feeding upon 

 the leaves. They become full-grown in spring or in 

 early summer, and pupate beneath the soil surface, 

 and three or four weeks later emerge as moths. The 

 larva (a) and moth (b) of the Variegated Cut- 

 worm (A gratis saiicia) are represented, natural size, 

 on page 130. Some species have two or more broods 

 each season, while others have but one. Cut-worms 

 are especially likely to do damage in fields and gardens 

 close to grass-lands, and to crops immediately fol- 

 lowing grass. 



Remedies Spray a small plat of clover with an 

 arsenical poison and then cut it late in the afternoon 

 and strew in bunches over the field to be protected. 

 The worms prowling about at night eat of the 

 poisonous baits and are killed. 



The ARMY-WORM hatches from eggs laid by a 

 handsome brown moth between the sheaths of grass 

 blades. The larvae are at first green, but later be- 

 come ornamented with longitudinal stripes of yellow, 

 gray, and black. They feed upon the leaves of grass, 

 wheat, oats, rye, etc, and become full-grown in about 

 a month. Occasionally they become so numerous that 

 they exhaust their food supplies, and then are forced 

 to seek other feeding grounds. At such times the 

 "armies" appear, and moving in solid masses sweep 

 all grasses and cereals before them. The larvae 

 pupate in earthen cells, emerging a fortnight later 

 as moths. 



Remedies One of the most promising methods 

 of combating this insect is that of thoroughly spray- 

 ing strips of grass or other crops in front of the 

 advancing host with mixtures of arsenate of lead and 

 water. 



