1840.] SENATE— No. 36. 63 



He says in this way his corn has escaped the depredations of 

 the wire-worm, while his neighbor's corn over the fence, would 

 suffer severely. He has been accustomed to do this for several 

 years, but could give me no definite rule as to the proportion 

 of salt used in the heap. As well as I could gather from his 

 statements, however, it was not large. To all soft-skinned 

 worms, such as slugs, &c., the application of caustic or quick 

 lime, if a small amount comes in contact with them, will prove 

 destructive ; but this does not seem to be the case with those 

 which are encased in an armor of horn. The application of 

 lime, therefore, in the hill with corn, is not found a preventive 

 against the injury from the wire worm. 



E. Phinney, of Lexington, whose authority is entitled to 

 the highest respect, " advises in the ploughing of green sward, 

 to turn it over in the spring, say from the first to the middle 

 of May, after the grass shall have started a few inches. The 

 reasons are, that generally a greater quantity of vegetable mat- 

 ter is turned under ; the sod will turn over smoother in the 

 spring than in the autumn, the grass is much less likely to 

 spring up between the furrow slices, which materially injures 

 the crop ; and lastly the worms which commonly abound in 

 grass ground are less likely to injure the crop. The reason 

 must be obvious. Finding no green substance in land turned 

 over in the fall to feed upon, they invariably seize upon the 

 growing crop. Where the green sward has been thus turned 

 over in the spring, after the grass has started, it is affirmed 

 upon experience that injury from the worm does not occur, 

 but when this is done in autumn, it is rarely otherwise." 



N. Bennet, of Framingham, thinks " turning over green 

 sward in August, a perfect remedy for the corn or cut worm, 

 which is the wire worm here referred to. By ploughing so 

 early in the season, the grass has time to spring up and grow 

 before winter between the furrows ; and when he cross-ploughs 

 in the spring, the young grass furnishes a sufficiency of food 

 for the worms, and therefore the corn is not injured by them." 

 Robert Colt, of Pittsfield, whose farming as well as that of 



