190 



Gruhh or Grass-ivorm in AT. J. 



Vol. IX. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



An account of the Grubb, or Grass-worm 

 Avhich appeared iu i»arts of Salem co., 

 N. J., iu ISOG aud 1844. 



To THE Editor, — In this vicinity it first 

 appeared, so far as 1 can Icarn, on the 11th 

 of Sixth montli, 1806; it attacked all kinds 

 of spear grass, such as Timothy, Herd, Blue 

 and Orchard grass, but its ravages were 

 mostly confined to the former, eating the 

 leaves and heads, as appears from a nTemo- 

 randum made at the time bvone of our most 

 intelligent farmers of that day. He first 

 thought this worm, had been brought by the 

 red chaflf" bearded wheat, as it was in 1806 

 that this variety was first introduced in this 

 neighbourhood, but on further examination 

 it was found to be in the higher parts of the 

 tide-meadows, where Timothy grew ; so that 

 supposition was put to rest. On one farm, 

 within a mile of Salem, by which I fre- 

 quently passed, their ravages were most ap- 

 parent. They took one fine field of Timo- 

 thy: the owner thinking he would arrest 

 their further depredations, dug a ditch, say 

 one foot wide and one deep, which caught 

 myriads of them, but before he had resorted 

 to this expedient, they had made their way 

 into an adjoining field of wheat, where they 

 appeared to make great destruction by eat- 

 ing the leaves and beard. He thought liis 

 crop would be ruined, and he set two men 

 at work with a line, say two rods lonsr, and 

 passed it over the heads of the wheat, the 

 men walking in the furrows and holding the 

 Ime tight; as the wlieat would spring up 

 from the line, the worm would fall to" the 

 ground. In that way he kept them off to a 

 considerable degree, but those who did not 

 resort to this plan, found after it was all 

 over and the harvest arrived, that the crop 

 was not materially lessened. It was not so' 

 with the grass; it being more in the sap, the 

 worm had a greater effect on it; in some in- 

 stances nearly destroying the crop, and what 

 was letl was of little value. They seemed 

 to come all at once in the neighbourhood, and 

 appeared mostly at full size, which was about 

 as large as an ordinary grubb-v/orm — some 

 were nearly black, others somewhat lighter 

 ]n appearance, with lighter stripes on Iheir 

 sides and belly, much like the worm that is 

 often seen inside of the husk of the upper 

 end of an ear of corn. From the above 

 date there had never been the same kind of 

 worm in such quantities as to make them 

 noticed, and by their long absence we had 

 almost forgotten that we had ever had such 

 visitors. On the same day of the same 

 month, this present year, ^ve were visited 

 by the same kind of worm. Tiie writer was 



walking, towards evening, with two of his 

 friends, to look at his fat cattle, and in ap- 

 preaching within six or eight rods of the 

 pasture field, we noticed a great quantity of 

 worms in the main road, migrating into the 

 adjoining fields. The grazing field was 

 principally in Timothy, \vith some red clo- 

 ver. The worms were making great rav- 

 ages on tlie former, and were passing into 

 the adjoining fields, both of which were in 

 wheat. The main road passed between one 

 field of Vv'heat and the grazing field, and it 

 was curious to observe the smallest species 

 of ants attack the worms when they would 

 attempt to cross that part of the road that 

 was destitute of grass. The ants would 

 sting them and then jump back, the worm 

 appearing to be thrown into great agony; 

 four or five stings would answer their pur- 

 pose; they would then lay hold and take 

 him off. On the other side of the pasture 

 field there was nothing but a fence between 

 it and the wheat; this was of the Mediterra- 

 nean species, but it was so forward and the 

 blades so nearly ripe, except the uppermost 

 ones, that they did not like it. The upper- 

 most ones and the beard they attacked in a 

 manner similar to the attack in 1806. This 

 piece of wheat was sowed after corn, and in 

 every four or five rods tliere was a strip of 

 oats about eight feet wide; this they attacked 

 voraciously, as it was in full vigor and about 

 coming out in head. It was thought for 

 some time they would not go beyond this 

 strip of oats, but finding they were passing 

 through it, I ploughed a deep furrow and 

 cut the land side down with a spade to 

 make it smooth, and a little slanting under, 

 to prevent tliem from getting furtlier, whicli 

 seemed to answer the purpose. This made 

 them thicker in the piece of oats than they 

 otherwise would have been, if nothing had 

 interrupted their progress. The consequence 

 was, that they stript them completely, and 

 tlie earth was almost covered with their ex- 

 crements; still they did not entirely destroy 

 the oats, for they shot up afterwards and 

 produced, say half a crop. They would 

 make their appearance in the atlernoon, 

 when the sun was about an hour high, and 

 so continue their ravages until the next 

 morning, say the sun an hour high; they 

 would then disappear by going down under 

 the dead grass or rubbish next^to the earth, 

 and there lie through the day. In the wheat 

 field, where there was not any litter to hide 

 under, they would work their way under 

 the earth. The timothy in the pasture field, 

 they eat up, leaving only the bare stalk. 

 About two-thirds of the field had been top- 

 dressed the fall before, viz: one acre with 

 lime, say 100 bushels to the acre; one ditto, 



