No. 4.] THE ARMY WORM. 269 



Revere duriiiir the early part of July and to make a .study 

 of the conditions there existing. At the Jordan farm, lling- 

 ham, the oat fields suffered the most severely, the greater 

 part of the leaves and heads being stripped from the grain. 

 Grass lands and pastures in the vicinity were also infested, 

 but to a less degree. The foreman of the place, Mr. Parma- 

 lee, was advised to promptly cut all infested crops and later 

 to furroAv around these fields in order to prevent the migra- 

 tion of the pest. Unfortunately there was some delay in 

 following out the last recommendation, and as a result, as 

 soon as the oats became partly dry, the worms migrated. 

 Active measures, however, later on resulted in reducing the 

 numbers of the insect. 



The World's End farm, Hingham, suffered nearly as much 

 from this pest, but the devastation was checked by promptly 

 mowing the crops. At Revere, the large Squire farm was 

 found to be thoroughly infested, and here, as in other places, 

 newly seeded land suffered the most. I was informed by the 

 superintendent, Mr. A. Bart Hill, that the army worm first 

 appeared in both the spring and fall rye fields, and that, 

 having stripped the leaves from the grain, they next attacked 

 the ofrass lands. As a result over one-third of the }>;rass and 

 grain crops on this estate were destro}'ed by the insect. 



I am enabled to state, upon the authority of Mr. Frank D. 

 Mills, Pittsfield, Mass., that the migrating masses of army 

 worms seriously interfered with the moving of electric cars, 

 and, in some cases, of freight trains in the vicinity of Dalton. 



The cranberry crop on the Cape has suffered this year 

 severely from the pest, the damage to the crop in the three 

 towns of Dennis, Harwich and Yarmouth being estimated at 

 $100,000. 



Replies from correspondents indicate that a conservative 

 estimate of the damage from the arm}" worm to the cran- 

 berry,* grass and grain crops of the State the present year 

 is at least $200,000. Of this amount the greater part 

 falls upon the cranberry growers, but many farmers have 

 lost nearly their whole hay crop as the result of the work of 

 this insect. The damage the army worm is capable of caus- 



* I am indebted to Capt. N. B Btirgess of Yarmouth Farms for much interesting 

 data concerning the ravages of the army worm in the cranberry-growing region. 



