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THE ILLINOIS FAEMEE. 



July 



of Sigillarea, Stigmarea and other ancient plants 

 now changed to cold, grey slate, or printing their 

 delicate forms in coal on the thin layers of this 

 impervious semi clay. The coal in this mine is 

 very pure, having qualities nearly allied to that 

 of cannel coal ; it burns with an ash and never 

 fills the stove with cinders. We have used it in 

 our family for all purposes of fuel for the past 

 three years, and it gives the best satisfaction. It 

 contains no sulphur and burns with a clear flame 

 in the open grate. As many of our people have 

 an idea that our Illinois coals are unfit for cook- 

 ing purposes, we take this occasion to correct the 

 error, at least in th's instance. The railroad 

 company is now using large quantities of this 

 coal in their locomotives and blacksmith shop. — 

 AH we now want is capital to apply thiw coal to 

 manufacturing purposes ; with cheap fuel, cheap 

 food, and in direct communication with the cot- 

 ton fields of the South, Central and Southern Il- 

 linois ought to do something besides growing 

 corn. 



THE AKMT WORM. 



The first account we hear of this worm came 

 from the county of Perry, as far back as 182-5, 

 when it was very destructive. It reappeared at 

 unequal periods in 1825, '26, '34, '39, '41 and '42. 

 Since then it has attracted no particular atten- 

 tion. There can be no doubt that it appears an- 

 nually, but that from the abundance of its ene- 

 mies among the ichneumon and birds it is kept 

 within bounds, but occasionally, in the absence 

 of these, it swarms in fearful numbers. In April, 

 for two or three days the air was filled with mil- 

 lers, which have since been.proved to be the moth 

 of this worm ; these must have laid their eggs by 

 the million at the base of the cultivated grasses, 

 from whence the grand army, after having de- 

 stroyed all that was green marched to other 

 fields. It is curious that they dislike clover, sel- 

 dom eating it, if at all ; but, unfortunately, little 

 clover is grown in this part of the State. Unless 

 badly pressed for food they seldom damage the 

 growing wheat and rye; perhaps at that season 

 its growth is too much advanced to please them. 

 Mr. Nason drove us some twenty miles through 

 the country, and we saw some thousands of acres 

 of wheat from which they had stripped every 

 leaf, leaving the stem and head. We could not 

 discover that it was injured, as the heads were 

 well filled and berry plump. Every meadow and 

 pasture that we saw had been denuded of its crop 

 of grass as completely as if fire had run over 

 them ; thousands of acres of corn had been re- 



planted ; the grass and flower plants in the yards 

 had been overrun and the foliage destroyed. — 

 They do not attack the root, but simply make it 

 the place where they burrow to pass through the 

 crysalis state. Few attempts had been made to 

 arrest their progress, even with the spade and 

 plow. It is singular that so destructive an in- 

 sect as this, and one that has been known so long, 

 say thirty-seven years, and making at least sev- 

 en very marked visits, should not have had its 

 habits better known than would appear to ha\e 

 been the case, but the farmers of Perry county 

 we suspect are no great rea iers, and from the 

 general absence of school houses in this twenty 

 mile drive, we think the prospect is not good for 

 a rapid improvement in this direction. In most 

 other parts of the State the farmers read, and as 

 the army worm may visit them, it will be well to 

 point out some of the habits of this unprofitable 

 visitor. 



THE REMEDY. 

 (See "The Army W^ rra," in another charter.) 



When this insect is about to appear in large 

 numbers we have notice of it in the swarms of 

 browni>5h or yellowis^h-brown millers, which are 

 about three-quarters of an inch across the wings. 

 They lay (heir eggs apparently only in Hurd's 

 grass or blue gra^s grounds, and when in large 

 numbers the only way that we can suggest is to 

 turn it under at once and ( ither plant to corn or 

 sow to oats. This will destroy the worms and 

 give a crop, and at the same time will protect the 

 field of corn and other crops. If this isnotdone 

 ditching must be resorted to at once, to keep 

 them from leaving the grass land. As they march 

 but .slowly, not over ha'f a dozen rods a day, fur- 

 rows can be plowed ahead of them, two or three 

 of them made deep and the loose earth thrown 

 out with a shovel, will keep them in. This, if 

 well done, is effectual, for they do not hatch in 

 the grain fields, but go there. When they get 

 up to the heads of the grain, which they do after 

 they have eaten leaves ; they sometimes, if it is 

 not well advanced, destroy the heads, and it is 

 important to dislodge them. Take a rope three 

 or four rods long and let two men sweep the field 

 with it, the worms will all drop to the ground and 

 not again attempt to reach the heads, but travel 

 to other quarters. No faT^er, therefore, need 

 lose anything more by them than the meadow and 

 pasture, and these can be plowed up and planted 

 to corn, or if needed for pasture sown to rye for 

 pasture or corn for hay, Hungarian grass is so 

 uncertain, and of so little value that we are not 

 disposed to recommend it. 



