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AGRICULTURE 



A TOBACCO CUT- 

 WORM 



If unchecked, they often destroy from one fourth to three fourths 

 of the apple crop. It costs millions of dollars every year to spray 

 fruit trees in order to protect them against this pest. There is a 

 fly, described later, which helps the farmer by de- 

 stroying the larvae of the codling moth. 



Cutworms. Cutworms are the enemies of almost 

 all garden, plants and of many field crops. The 

 name is applied to the larvae of different moths, 

 which are so similar in appearance and habits 

 that they may be described together. 



The adult moths have dark fore wings and lighter hind wings. 

 They lay their eggs about midsummer. The larvae soon hatch and 

 begin to feed, but on the abundant summer foliage their ravage is 

 hardly noticed. In the fall they hollow out cells in the earth, where 

 they sleep through the winter. In the spring they come out and 

 feed greedily on the tender young plants. They cut these off at 

 the surface and eat the stem and leaves. Like the parent moths, 

 they usually feed only at. night ; but when food is scarce they feed 

 in the day. When full-grown, cutworms are dull brown, gray, 

 or greenish in color. They 

 enter the earth and remain 

 there in the pupa state till 

 summer, and then come out 

 as moths. 



The best way to destroy cut- 

 worms is by thorough cultiva- 

 tion and by poison. Weeds 

 and grass in fields about to be 



cultivated may be sprayed with Paris green, or the poison can 

 be applied to bunches of clover or grass scattered where cutworms 

 are troublesome, 



THE MOTH OF THE TOBACCO CUTWORM 



