The great preventive measure in other countries is given a& 

 clean cultivation, especially as applied to keeping down the 

 weeds during the time the crop is off the land. In this terri- 

 tory, however, the dryness of the winter usually ensures the 

 absence of succulent vegetation from most tobacco lands be- 

 tween the months of May and November, except it be volunteer 

 tobacco plants growing out from the ploughed-in stalks. These 

 should always be destroyed, on account of several pests. As 

 a matter of fact, cutworms are rarely very troublesome in th& 

 lands. Sometimes, however, naturally moist soil is used to 

 secure an early planting, and if such a course is intended, care 

 should be taken to keep the ground free from weeds during the 

 winter, or the loss from cutworms may be considerable. The 

 planter should always bear in mind that cutworm moths are on 

 the wing in September, looking for succulent plants amongst 

 which to deposit their eggs, and that if cutworms hatch and 

 enter the ground, subsequent ploughing will destroy the avail- 

 able food, but not the cutworms themselves to any great extent,, 

 and that the tobacco plants, when placed in the ground, come 

 as a welcome supply of nourishment to the hungry insects. 



The land may, of course, be baited for cutworms, as already 

 described, before planting out, or a spoonful of the bran or meal : 

 may be placed by each plant as a safeguard. 



Remedies. When cutworms are abundant in a tobacco 

 seed bed full of plants, they are not by any means as easily 

 destroyed as they are before the plants come up. 

 There is an immense supply of succulent food everywhere, and,, 

 though the bait be distributed through the bed, its attractive- 

 ness does not extend probably beyond a few inches hence the 

 value of preventive measures. To get the best effect, it will 

 probably be best to make up a bran or meal bait of arsenate oi 

 lead or Paris green, so as not to injure the plants, and distribute 

 it abundantly through the beds, so that as many cutworms 

 as possible will come into the sphere of its attractiveness. 

 Arsenite of soda, being a soluble form of arsenic, is injurious 

 to vegetation with which it comes into contact. This is about 

 all that can be done if the cutworms are very small and attack- 

 ing the young seedlings. Larger cutworms can easily be found 

 by digging in the surface of the soil near the newly-severed 

 plant. Natives usually nave something in the nature of a special 

 aptitude for this kind of work, and a few good " boys " are 



