1880.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



117 



oughly done, otherwise tliey will grow up 

 from tlie roots again ; but evidently the soil 

 may contain more seeds than it can sustain, 

 hence many of tlicm may He dormant, and 

 only germinate after the (irst, second or third 

 crop has been removed, as the case may be. 

 Our corresiiotulent may be correct as to the 

 manner of their introduction into his lot, for 

 '^screenings'''' are likely to be conijiosed of all 

 sorts of field refuse in the way of seeds, and 

 these hard seeds may pass through a chicken 

 and germinate afterwards. 



THE HELIOTHUS ARMIGERA. 



Mr. H. M. E., Marietta, Pa.— From the 

 description of the worms that you lind boring 

 into the fruit of your tomatoes, which you 

 gave me on the 2d "Inst., I have not much 

 hesitation in pronouncing them the same that 

 we often hnd boring into the ears of the 

 green corn, Ijetween the husk and the 

 cob, namely, the Ileliotlms armiyrra, conuuon- 

 ly called the "Corn-worm" of tlie North, and 

 "Boll-worm" of the South. It is not only an 

 omnivorous feeder, liut also a sort of cosmo- 

 politan in its geogra\iliical distribution. It has 

 been found devouring green corn, (and, ex- 

 ceptionally, ripened corn,) tomatoes, both 

 green and ripe, cotton-balls, young pump- 

 kins, green peas, string beans, hemp-heads, 

 tobacco, gladiolas, &c., according to the 

 records of different observers ; and has been 

 found in England, France, .Japan, Australia, 

 our Southern, Northern and Middle States, 

 and perhajis elsewhere. There are usually 

 two broods in a season in this latitude, and a 

 single female is capable of depositing about 

 five hundred eggs during her lifetime. Of 

 course the young also feed on other parts of 

 the plant, because when they are found on 

 the fruit they are well advanced in size. The 

 moth expands an inch and a half or more 

 across the extended wings, which are of clay- 

 yellow color, with a dark oblong spot on each. 

 There seems to be no remedy for this worm 

 but hand-picking. The moths may be dimin- 

 ished by sotting shallow dishes containing 

 molasses and vinegar and thus trapping them. 

 Perhaps a lamp and water pool would do as 

 well. 



A Bit of History. 



In the summer of 1847, whilst walking 

 along the "tow-path" of the Pennsylvania 

 canal, about one mile west of Marietta, we 

 observed in a lield between the canal and the 

 Susfiuehanna river, a plant about two feet in 

 height, with a single rose-colored flower on 

 the apex of the stem, which attracted our at- 

 tention. *But as we were in pursuit of other 

 game, we left it untouched. On mentioning 

 the subject to Mr. Israel Goodman, he ex- 

 pressed a desire to possess it, and subse- 

 quently we visited the locality and brought 

 the plant away with us, and he planted it in 

 his garden. In the autumn of 1848 we re- 

 moved from the town and located at Lancas- 

 ter. Whilst on a visit to Marietta in the 

 early spring of ISoD, Mr. Goodman called our 

 attention to the plant, it liaviug greatly in- 

 creased in size, more than a dozen of the 

 leafless stalks then constituting the group. 

 He cut away a portion of the root, which we 

 brought away and planted in our garden in 

 Lancaster, and it grew luxuriantly, but for 

 two or three years we could never rai.se a 

 flower, although it developed a number of 

 buds. .Just about the time the calyx began to 

 open and the flower to expand, .something 

 would eat a hole in the side and devour the 

 interior contents ; but the leaves were un- 

 touched, and we never could discover an in- 

 sect or any other animal preying upon it. 

 Perhaps we ought here to inform the botanic 

 reader that the plant belonged to the family 

 M.\LVACE.Ti, and the species as nearly as we 

 could determine, the Malva si/lventHs, or 

 "High Mallow." About 10 o'clock see 

 evening we had occasion to go into the gar- 

 den, in the vicinity of the plant with a light, 

 and then and there we discovered tive^ or six 

 naked caterpillars of the "cut-worm" kind, 

 with their bodies about halfwav introduced 



into the bolls or buds of our mallow plant, and 

 we captured the whoe of them. From these 

 we bred a clay-coliu-ed moth, neither htrra nor 

 ima(io, dilleiing materially from Ildiothus 

 arini(jera, ami we have always believed it to 

 be the same. 



THE GORTYNA NITELA. 

 Mr. J. IL J/., Afanheim, Lanvastrr roiinl;/, 

 P(t. — I must beg your indulgence for not hav- 

 ing before answered yuur (pieries, iu ,June 

 last, relating to the snuill striped worms you 

 found boring into the wheat stalks at the 

 time it was infested by the "Army worm." 

 These worms on the Kith of .June were over 

 half an inch in length, very dark in color 

 (nearly black), with a dull, yellowish head 

 and caudal segment. They have thiee yel- 

 lowish, longitudinal lines. The dorsal line is 

 entire from end to end, but the two lateral 

 ones are obliterated on two or three of the 

 intermediate .segments and replaced by black, 

 a characteristic they retain throughout their 

 entire larval development, although they 

 change very much otherwise. They excavate 

 the hollow stalks of wheat, boring through 

 the joints from one hollow tube to another, 

 and when the wheat stalk gets too ripe, and 

 their bodies too large to live comfortably in 

 it, they cut a hole through the sides of the 

 wheat, and make their escaiie through it, and 

 seek some large plant to finish their larval 

 career. I have detected more or less of these 

 little worms in the stalks of wheat nearly 

 every season for the last twenty years 

 especially along the shaded margins of 

 fields where the grain continued the longest 

 green. 1 have not been able to breed the 

 moth from those I found on wheat, but later 

 in the season I have detected them buring 

 into the stalks of Amaranths, Dahlias anil 

 Lady-Sliiipers, on my own premises, and, 

 putting "that and that" together, I doubt 

 not they are the larva of Gortijna nitela, com- 

 monly called the "Stalk-borer." In a addi- 

 tion to the plant nanaed this worm bores into 

 the stalks of corn, potatoes, tomatoes, asters 

 and other garden herbage. The larva, when 

 mature, is a full inch or more in lengtii. The 

 body of the moth is | of an inch long, and it 

 is an inch and and a half across the expanded 

 wings. Color, light ashy-brown, with a 

 whitish diagonal bar across the front wings 

 about one-third from the outer end. Fortu- 

 nately these worms seem to be solitary in 

 their habits, each one being engasred on his 

 "own hook," and rarely more than one found 

 in a plant. Hand-picking appears to be the 

 only remedy for them. The moth appears in 

 August and September. 



.same result may possibly be attained with the 

 use of other viscous substances ; but however 

 that may he, this exi)eriment has resulted in 

 perfect success and is worth a thorough trial. 

 If this success be permanent, the idea is a 

 very important one. 



A CURIOUS BIRD. 



QUARRTVILI.E, Pa., Aug. 7, 18S0. 

 Pkof. S. S. Rathvon— Zlea)' Sir : I send you the 

 bird whicli we sliol on Rauh & Edward's dam wliile 

 gunning: for froRS. If he is anything rare pfease let 

 us linow through The Farmer. — 'Y'onrs very re- 

 siMctJ'iMy , L. T. Ifensd. 



Yovr bird was duly received, and, although 

 not as common as it was forty or fifty years 

 ago, yet it is by no means rare in this county. 

 It is an immature specimen of the " Night 

 Heron," or "(Juaybird" (NjiHiardea ynr- 

 denii.) Its favorite haunts are in the vicinity 

 of swamps, where it feeds on fishes, frogs and 

 water in.sects and their larvae. ITsually they 

 build their nests in tree tops, but they some- 

 times also build in thickets. They feed most 

 at night, but also come abroad iu daylight 

 when pressed by hunger. 



Entomological, 



CATERPILLARS. 

 A gentleman has discovered a method of 

 keeping caterpillars off trees that may prove 

 of great value. The thought occurred that 

 he could prevent them from ascending his 

 trees ; he formed a ring round the trees a few 

 feet from the ground with a liberal quantity 

 of axle grease. Tlie crawlers ascend till they 

 reach that ring, and dare not cross it. The 



USE OF GUANO FOR GRAPE PHYL- 

 LOXERA. 



At a recent meeting of the ParLs Academy 

 of Sciences Dr. Ilamm advLsed the apiilica- 

 tion of sulphide of carbon with infu.sorial 

 earth or guano as an absorbent, believing 

 that more of the sulphide can thus be applied 

 without injury to the roots, and that evapor- 

 ation will thereby be lessened.— 4h!. Ento- 

 moloefist fcrr July. 



.^ 



ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY IN THE 

 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



The only way to bring this practi- 

 cal science to agricultural minds generally, 

 to the clas.s with whom it is of great impor- 

 tance, is, to reiiuire that it be taught iu all 

 the i)ul)lic schools. It is a kind of knowledge 

 which the young coyntry student grasps 

 easily and successfully when deprived of its 

 iine.ssential technicalities. Of such practical 

 consequence is it that it had better be taught 

 even at the exiien.se of almost any other study 

 of the usual courses, and some attention to it 

 would be a great relief from unnecessary 

 problems in abstractions which are often iu- 

 llicted to a useless extent in early training. 



It is a .sad consequence of the failure to 

 teach natural science in the public schools 

 that our cultivators do not recognize their 

 own interest and duty with reference to in- 

 sects, and need to be forced by law to a sense 

 of its importance. Words persuade, but ex- 

 amples convince. Let every intelligent far- 

 mer help demonstrate it, for the good of him- 

 self and others. — W. IS. li. in Am. Entmivth- 

 ijist for July. 



EXPERIENCE WITH THE IMPORTED 

 CABBAGE WORM. 



I would like to make observations on the 

 Cabbage Worm this year, and wish to get all 

 the light I can that will help me in my study. 

 1 grow from .3,(100 to .5,000 early cabbage and 

 from 17,000 to 25,000 late cabbage, each year. 

 During 1878 1 had one flat of two acres of ex- 

 tra fine cabbage on a clover and timothy sod. 

 ^fost of it was manured with stable-manure 

 one year, the next year with a coat of (heav}') 

 a.shes, and the following wintera heavy coat 

 of tankage from the slaughter and packing 

 house (heads, feet, etc., steamed). In the 

 spring the sod was planted to cabbage. 



The result was an immense crop. The but- 

 terflies were very numerous the whole season, 

 and fears were expressed that I should have 

 no cabbages, on account of the worms. The 

 crop, however, received very slight damage 

 from the worms, except on the outsides of 

 the patch to the sixth or tenth row in. When 

 selling in the fall a customer called my atten- 

 tion to the chrysalis on the cabbage, which, 

 upon being ojiened, showed something that 

 looked like maggots, so that I think there is 

 a parasite at work. ' 



We have observed that large patclies re- 

 ceive much less injury than small ones. It is 

 very rarely that cabbage is raised with any 

 success in small patches. 



I stated, at the Indiana State Horticultural 

 Meeting, that if we manure heavily, cultivate 

 thoroughly, and grow in large patches, we 

 can raise cabbage. 



Gov. Furnas remarked that we ought to 

 keep them off the outsides of the patches also. 

 This is the point on which I am anxious to 

 be informed ; hence would like to aid you 

 and the other noble investigators to find out 

 how it is to be done. 



From what I can learn, the hot-water pro- 

 cess (lime, pepper, coal-oil,) have proven a 

 failure, at least partially .so ; and to catch the 

 worms or butterfly is a big job. 



In our city an irishman raised a splendid 

 crop of cabbage by sprinkling the plants with 



