38 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ March, 



the attention of any ordinary observer. To 

 many people they are more or less repugnant, 

 but this repugnance is soon overcome by tliose 

 accustomed to them ; especially when they have 

 a direct interest in their destruction. No 

 fears need be entertained as to their stinging 

 or biting, for this they nevermake any attempt 

 to do, notwithstanding their formidable as- 

 pect ; and here, allow ine to mention one -or 

 two examples of carelessness in tobacco cul- 

 ture, which are important factors relating to 

 the increase or decrease of the tobacco-worm, 

 and are more or less related to the injury 

 ■which is the subject of this pajjer. Some 

 tobacco-growers, when the time comes to cut 

 off the crop, merely shake off what worms 

 may be on the plants, and pay no other atten- 

 tion to them. ■ Tliey may perhaps have had a 

 surfeit of worms, and now rejoice that they 

 are to have a surcease of tliat disagreeable 

 labor, and therefore their whole energies are 

 devoted to harvesting and curing. Now, such 

 a course may be absolutely suicidal ; because, 

 the mature worms, thus .shaken off will bur- 

 row into the ground, and change to impa ; 

 and the immature ones, will finish their larval 

 career on the young "suckers ;" and finally 

 will also disapjjear "under ground. Another 

 careless habit is, to let the stump stand in the 

 field, which sometimes realizes what is termed 

 a "second crop." If this crop is left growing 

 without paying the same care to it that was 

 paid to the first crop, it may be the prolific 

 source of an increased "crop of worms" the 

 following year. Of course, you all must know 

 better than I do, how far you may have per- 

 mitted this state of things to exist, and this 

 may afford some light upon the possibility or 

 probability, of an increased or diminished 

 number of worms the coming season. Their 

 general immolation, and hence the prevention 

 of their pupal transformations, are mainly the 

 prior conditions to which I have alluded. But 

 they are also subject to parasitic infestations 

 to a limited extent, and the more eft'ectively 

 these conditions are brought to bear upon 

 them in any season, the less number will be 

 transmitted to the following season. 



These parasitic infestations are caused as 

 far as known at present, by two little "clear- 

 winged flies," and one or two species of "two- 

 winged flies," not much unlike some of onr 

 common "horse-flies." The little clearwings, 

 so far as they go, I consider the best friends of 

 the tobacco and grape grower.s. They are 

 very bright and active little insects, not more 

 than a tenth of an inch in length, and one 

 female will deposit from fifty to one hundred 

 eggs on the body of a single tobacco-worm. 

 As soon as the eggs are hatched the tiny 

 little larva bury themselves in the fleshy parts 

 of their host, and these feed on its substance, 

 until their larva period is completed. They 

 then work their way out to the surface of the 

 tobacco-worm, and there spin each a little 

 white or yellowish cocoon, one end of which 

 is attached to the skin of the worm, and 

 crowded together, like so many grains of rice 

 standing on end. In two or three days, some 

 times a longer period, these little grubs will 

 have passed through their pupal period, when 

 they will cut off a little lid from the upper end 

 of the cocoon, and emerge forth a fly, like 

 the one that laid the eggs. 



Doubtless some of yoii may have noticed 

 tobacco-worms, tomato-worms and grape- 

 worms, covered with the cocoons of these little 

 parasites, and when you do see them, don't 

 disturb that worm, lest you also destroy your 

 little friends. You need entertain no fears 

 about a worm so infested, for he will never eat 

 any more tobacco after he is so microgaftfr- 

 ized. A few days thereafter you may find him 

 adhering with a death-grasp to the old spot, 

 and his body hanging flabbily down, either 

 dead or dying. The maggots, however, of the 

 Tachinized worms, or two-winged flies, re- 

 main in their bodies, and are carried with 

 them under ground and destroj' them in their 

 pupal form, so that the imago or moth of such 

 a worm never is developed nor sees the light 

 of day. These are some of those "intermedi- 

 ate casualties" to which I have alluded. 



But, should the worm, through neglect, in- 

 advertence, or ignorance, be allowed to per- 

 fect its larval development and so into the 

 ground to pupate, it will come forth the fol- 

 lowing season about the time the "Jimson- 

 weed" is in bloom, in the form of a large grey 

 moth, and these moths may be noticed in the 

 evening hovering around these plants, draw- 

 ing the nectar out of their trumpet shaped 

 flowers ; and when they are so engaged, they 

 may be struck down with a wooden bat or 

 paddle, or be caught in a bag-net with a 

 handle attached to it, and thus be prevented 

 from depositing their eggs on the plants. 



Another mode of destroying these moths, is 

 by poisoning them. It is well known that the 

 tobacco moths are partial to the nectar in the 

 flowers of the jimson-weed, and visit these 

 plants in the evening twilight, for the purpose 

 of drawing it out of their flowers with their 

 long tongues, which are coiled up like the 

 mainspring of a watch, below the forpeart of 

 Ihe head, between their marillce.. Now, if a 

 strong solution of arsenic, or corosive sublimate, 

 which are almost tasteless, is mixed with 

 honey and a drop or two is introduced into 

 each flower of this plant during the after- 

 noon, when the moths suck it out in the even- 

 ing, they cannot survive it long, but will die 

 sometime during the night, or wherever tliey 

 may secrete themselves, after they leave the 

 tobacco field. If I have been correctly inform- 

 ed, this plan has been successfully tried by 

 several tobacco growers in the state of New 

 York and also in Virginia. and the Caroliuas. 

 Indeed I am informed from an intelligent and 

 practical soiu'ce, that this remedy has been 

 tested, to a limited extent, in this county 

 with entire success. 



Although this poison remedy could have no 

 possible effect upon the eggs that had been 

 deposited by the moth before it had partaken 

 of the poison, yet after that event, it would 

 deposit its eggs "never more," unless there 

 had been some radical defect in the adminis- 

 tration of the remedy. 



These pupa are greedily devoured by pigs, 

 skunks, chickens, crows, "and birds in general 

 — when they can get at them. Plowing tlie 

 ground late in the fall or early in the spring, 

 will bring them to the surface and expose 

 them, not only to the animals which feed 

 upon them, but also to the vicissitudes of the 

 weather; for although insects generally can 

 withstand almost any degree of continuous 

 cold — under conditions of their own instinct- 

 ive selection — yet, alternations of heat and 

 cold, wet and dry, freeze and thaw, js very 

 generally destructive to them. I have often 

 duj them up in the spring of the year within 

 the" depth of a common garden spade, but it 

 is probable that they bury themselves deeper 

 than that when they first pupate. They have 

 the power to wriggle themselves upward to- 

 ward the surfiice of the ground, by the flexi- 

 ble hind ends of the body, but I do not think 

 they could work themselves downward again, 

 and as the moth appears late in the season, it 

 might be advisable to plow the tobacco ground 

 late in the season at about a spade's depth, 

 which would give crows, blackbirds, chickens 

 and other animals an opportunity to feed upon 

 them. It might also furnish an opportunity 

 to pick them by hand. Insects naturally in- 

 crease in proportion to the increase of their 

 natural food-plant, although they sometimes 

 ■decrease, from contingencies of which we have 

 not a clear knowledge. 



The "Tobacco worm" belongs to the 

 Sphinx family. It was so named by Lin- 

 naeus, because of a remote, or i)erhaps fan- 

 cied resemblance to the Egyptian Sphinx, 

 when the worm is in a state of repose. All 

 the larvae, or worms of this family, when they 

 are not feeding, support themselves by the 

 feet on the hinder part of the body, and raise 

 up the front part, and thus remain for hours 

 lierfectly motionless; unless they are annoyed 

 by their pigmy persecutors— the little para- 

 sites tliat approach them to deposit upon 

 their bodies their tiny little eggs, and^ the 

 presence of which they instinctively ackn'owl- 

 edge by the rapid turning of the front part of 



their bodies from side to side with a sudden 

 jerk. But it is all in vain, for the little per- 

 severing creatures never relinquish their task 

 until it is accomplished. 



There are two prominent species of Sphinxes 

 that attack the tobacco crop, named Sphinx 

 Carolina and Sphinx quinque-maculata, respect- 

 ively. In the imago, or moth state, to 'which 

 I have already alluded, they are called "Hawk 

 moths," and, somewhat indiscriminately also 

 "Humming-bird moths," from their habit of 

 poising themselves on the wing, like a hum- 

 ming-bird, while they are in the act of suck- 

 ing the nectar out of the flowers. These two 

 species of Sp/u')ix may properly be called the 

 "Southern Sphinx," and the "Northeastern 

 "pliinx." In the southern States the Sphinx 

 Carolina or "Carolina Sphinx" prevails, and 

 the northern species is almost unknown; 

 whilst in the northeastern States the S. 5 

 macidata, or "five-spotted Sphinx" prevails, 

 and the southern species is almost unknown. 

 But here in the intermediate region, or Mid- 

 dle States, we have both species. Although 

 the distribution of insects is more or less local, 

 yet their limitations are not distinguished by 

 a fixed, or abrupt line; but on the contrary 

 there is an overlapping of one district upon 

 another, and hence such an overlapping belt 

 will produce species that respectively belong 

 to either, or both. In districts where no to- 

 bacco is cultivated, and often, even where it 

 is cultivated, the "Five-spotted Sphinx" at- 

 tacks the potato vines, and the "Carolina 

 Sphinx," the tomatoes. I have a knowledge 

 of these insects existing in the county of Lan- 

 caster long before the tobacco plant became 

 an object of cultivation in it. I had dug the 

 chrysalids out of the ground, even in my boy- 

 hood, more than fifty years ago; and, as 

 neither tobacco nor tomatoes were cultivated 

 then, they must have fed upon the potato 

 vines. There is something about the form of 

 these chrvsalids that is very peculiar, and is 

 calculated to make an impression upon the 

 minds uf those who are given to habits of ob- 

 servation, that is not easily erased. They are 

 large, smooth, spindle-shaped objects, J that 

 have an appendage at the anterior end, which 

 is turned around, like the handleof a jug, and 

 hence we bovs locally called them "brown 

 pitchers," or""brown jugs." This handle is 

 merely a tube in which the long spiral sucking 

 tongue lies concealed in the pupa state. 



The moths of the tobacco worms are crepus- 

 cularioiis in their habits; that is, they fly 

 forth, feed, and deposit their eggs during the 

 evening twihght, and on moonhght evenings 

 perhaps later into the night. During the day 

 they are perfectly quiet and lie concealed, and 

 from their plain and inconspicious coloration, 

 they are often jiassed over without being 

 perceived. Although there appears to be sev- 

 eral broods of them during the season, yet, in 

 reality, there is only one in this latitude. 

 This appearance arises from the/act, that like 

 the "Colorado Potato beetles"— the females 

 do not deposit all their eggs at one time, or in 

 one day, nor yet in one week; but very prob- 

 ably occupy several weeks, depositing them 

 "here and there," in small patches upon the 

 plants. These eggs being deposited at differ- 

 ent times, are hatched out at different times, 

 and hence there appears to be dift'erent broods, 

 but they are all of the same. Each female 

 moth will deposit from three to five hundred 

 eggs during her life, and may exceed that 

 number. On one occasion I took out of a fe- 

 male over three hundred; but she may have 

 already deposited some, as she flew into a 

 window and was struck down and captured 

 in the evening, when she was perhaps on the 

 way to, or was returning/rojn, a tobacco field. 

 Thanking you for your attention, I with these 

 remarks close this essay. 



Those of our subscribers who do not reside 

 in Lancaster city, but who have given that as 

 their address, will please designate some place 

 at which to send their papers, as we have to 

 pay postage at transient rates on those sent 

 to the post-oflice, which we can ill afford. 



