The Lancaster Farmer. 



Dr. S. S. KATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER. PA.. JULY, 1883. 



Vol, XV. No. 7. 



Editorial. 



THE HORN-WORM MOTH. 

 A voicu I'lom the Gap lias bccu published, 

 in which it is proposed to establish a 

 general systematic destruction of this insect 

 (which is so detrimental to the interests of the 

 tobacco gro.vers) by a widely extended unity 

 of action, in which the moth itself is to be the 

 objective point, instead of a delayed warfare, 

 and fighting it in the form of a worm. There 

 seems to be some wisdom in the inception of 

 this idea, if it is intelligently and energetically 

 carried into efl'ect : because, the moth is the 

 origin of the damage, and not the damager 

 itself. In other words, the moth is the si/ni})- 

 tom, and not the disease itself, and if the 

 symptom is properly treated, the disease may 

 be measurably, if not entirely, prevented. A 

 female moth during the entire tobacco season 

 will deposit from three to five hundred eggs, 

 each one of which is likely to become a des- 

 tructive Ilorn-Worra : and, if she can be cap- 

 tured, or killed, before she has deposited any 

 of her eggs, it becomes very apparent how 

 much damage has been prevented. But the 

 male is also an object of solicitude in the 

 economy of this insect ; for, it is he that ferti- 

 lizes the eggs of the female ; and, unfertilized 

 eggs will never produce Horn-VVorms. 



These large gray moths, variously called 

 "Horn-Worm Moths," "Tobacco-Moths," 

 " Sphinx-Moths," " Humraing-Bird-Moths" 

 and "Hawk-Moths," have most voracious ap- 

 petites for almost any liquid sweetness ; and, 

 being provided with a long spiral sucking tube, 

 they are able to extract the nectar from the 

 largest and deepest flowers ; but they seem to 

 have the strongest partiality for the trumpet- 

 shaped (lowers of the Datura stramonium, 

 commonly called — "Thorn- Apple," "James- 

 town-Weed," or " Jimson-Weed." We 

 mention this plant specially because it is 

 common, abundant, hardy, of easy culti- 

 vation, blooms profusely, and is of easy 

 access to those who may have the matter 

 of destroying or capturing the.se insects 

 in hand. Why they are partial to the 

 nectar of this plant may be because it 

 belongs to the same family that the tobacco 

 plant does. It is a Solariaceous plant, and has 

 a family alliance, not only with the tobacco 

 plant, but also with the potato, the tomato, the 

 egg-plant, the ground-cherry, the night-shade, 

 the horse-nettle, the hen-bane, the cayenne- 

 pepper, and a number of other plants of a sim- 

 ilar character. 



The "Death's-IIead Sphynx " of Europe 

 {Acherontia atropas) as its specific name im- 

 plies, feeds on the "deadly night-shade," 

 {Atropa belladonna), but is also destructive to 

 potato-tops in its horn-worm state. The 

 moths of this family aU partake largely of 

 nature's sweets, not only from the (lowers of 

 the "Jimpson-weed," but also from various 

 species of trumpet (towers, including lillics, 

 honey-suckles, morning-glories, and convol- 

 vuli in general. Wherever these various 



flowers bloom, is the place to stand and wait 

 for the moth, and not in the tobacco field. 

 They arc powerfully swift-winged insects, 

 and must be taken unawares, when they are 

 making their evening bamiuet ; for, they 

 usually conceal thcm.selves during the middle 

 of the day. They are twilight flyers, and 

 during that portion of the day is the time to 

 conduct an active warfare against them. A 

 deadly poison introduced into the flower-cups 

 of the plants they visit has been the extin- 

 guisher of many thousands of them. Artifi- 

 cial (lowers, maile to imitate those the insects 

 visit, and similarly poisoned, are said to be 

 equally ell'ective. But whether poison is used 

 or not, where the flowers bloom is the most 

 successful i)lace to encounter this moth. If 

 only four out of every five eggs, through 

 various contingencies, become abortive, it will 

 still leave 100 horn-worms to each female 

 moth. A graded scale of prices — a certain 

 price per cajjifa— might be adopted both for 

 the capture of moths and worms. This would 

 be more eUective than hiring persons by the 

 day. 



If it is worth a penny or a half-penny to 

 kill a worm, it is worth ten times that amount 

 to kill a gravid female moth. Males might be 

 reckoned at half the price of a female. Still, 

 with all this, other measures should not be 

 omitted. The next best thing to the destruc- 

 tion of the moth, is the destruction of the 

 eggs before they are hatched. No worms 

 should be left in the field after the crop is 

 harvested, for these will make moths for next 

 year. The whole tobacco region of the coun- 

 ty, or the State, should go into the measure 

 with determined energy, for the longer the 

 matter is delayed, it only adds to the difliculty 

 of the problem, therefore " be up and doing." 



MORE ENGLISH SPARROW LORE. 



The farmers of Berks county, Penna., say, 

 according to a telegram from Reading, " that 

 since the onslaught upon the English sparrows, 

 which is permitted l)y recent legislative enact- 

 ment, there has been a remarkable increase in 

 the damage to crops by the Hessian fly and 

 wheat worm. " 



The foregoing scrap, clipped from the 

 " variety " column of the Public Ledger, we 

 think a slander upon the truthfulness and fhe 

 intelligence of the " farmers of Berks county." 

 When, where, and how long has "the on- 

 slaught upon the English sparrows " been in 

 existence V Who ever saw or heard tell of an 

 English sparrow destroying such a tiiiey and 

 tasteless insect as a Hessian fly 'i He.ssian 

 (lies congregate in wheat fields— or rather they 

 are bred there ; but Englisli sparrows roost 

 and loaf about cities, towns and villages. 

 Doubtless many thousands of Hessian Hies 

 arc destroyed by swallows, chimney birds, 

 martins, red-starts, fly-catchers, night-hawks, 

 etc., etc., but feu; venj few, indeed, if any, 

 are captured by sparrows. Besides, the law 

 affecting sparrows is too recent to produce any 

 perceptable effect upon the number of Hessian 

 flies ; moreover, the damage by Ilessiau flies 



was already done when the law went into 

 effect. No, there is no farmer, not even in 

 Berks county, who will for one moment make 

 or defend such an assertion— they are wiser 

 than that. As to that indc-flnite creation de- 

 nominated " Ihc wheat worm," we don't know 

 which one among the many it is; and how 

 should a sparrow know V Whatever " wheat- 

 worm " may bo meant, we think almost any 

 one might go bail that the Knglish sparrow 

 will molest them as little as any other bird 

 that Hies. It may be an ea.sy matter to send 

 such telegrams, and easier still to print them, 

 but the writeis should give their names, or 

 their authorities, and not attempt to jialm 

 such stuff on the " farmei-s of Berks county," 

 even if the report liad originally come from a 

 single i-solated old fogy. At the present 

 writing many of the elm trees of Lancaster 

 city are infested by millions of " Elm-leaf 

 Beetles. " The leaves are literally skeletonized 

 by them, and the twigs, branches, limbs and 

 trunks, from the apx to the b;ise, are covered 

 with the larva, the pu|ia, and the mature 

 beetles, and although Lancaster city is full of 

 English sparrows, not one of them approaclies 

 those trees in quest of the worms. Even the 

 gutters and the pavements are populous with 

 tlie.se insects ; where, as a general thing, tliey 

 are unmolested b}- either the s|)arrows or the 

 people. You will find multitudes of sparrows 

 in the streets (the "onslauglif" has not yet 

 commenced in Lancaster city) fighting over 

 half a grain of oats scratched out of a horse- 

 dropping, but the Elm Beetles they " let 

 Severely alone." 



AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY- 

 ORGANIZED IN 1848. 



Marshall 1'. Wilder, Boston, Mass., Presi- 

 dent ; 1'. Barry, Rochester, N. Y., Vice Presi- 

 dent ; Prof. W. J. Beal, Lancing, Michigan, 

 Secretary ; Benjamin G. Smith, Camliridge, 

 Mass., Trc.Jisurer. The nineteenth session of 

 this distinguished national a.s.sociatioii will lje 

 held at llortieuKuial Hall, Philadelphia, Pa., 

 (■oimneiiclng on Wuhu-idaij, Sciitnubcr lOt/i, 

 IgS'i, at 10 o'clock, A. M., and continuing for 

 three days. 



All Horticultural, Pomolojfical, Agricul- 

 tural and other kindred .associations in llic 

 I'nited.'^talesandBritish Provinccsare invited 

 to send delegations as large as may ))e conve- 

 nient, and all pei-sons interested in the culti- 

 vation of fruits are invited to be present and 

 take seats in the convention. 



This promises to be one of the most inter- 

 esting conventions ever held by tills society. 

 Sixteen of the most distinguished e.s.si»yi8t8 of 

 the country, will read i)apers or deliver ad- 

 dresses on Pomology, Botany, Fruit (Jrow- 

 ing. Entomology and other subjects relating 

 fo these, and there will also \>e a general 

 exhibition of fruits. Also, in connection 

 with the above-named society, and 'at the 

 same time and place, will l>e held the Kifty- 

 fourth Annual Exhibition of the Penn.sylvania 

 Horticultural .Society. Wm. L. .Schaffer, 



