::-^^ 



1861. 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



243 



the soil well, but v.e are not so prejudiced as not 

 to believe that there is considerable room for im- 

 provement. As & man's success in a professional 

 line very often depends much upon the prepara- 

 tions he has made to accomplish bis designs ; 

 likewise the acquirement of a good crop depends 

 mainly on the manner ia wh'ch the ground is 

 tilled ; it should be broken up deep and regular, 

 and if corn be planted thereia it should be culti- 

 yated as soon as it becomes large enough, for the 

 soil being very productive, weeds will spring up 

 in a short time, which will stunt the corn and 

 materially injure the crop. The system of hedg- 

 ing not being much introduced, the farmers pro- 

 tect their crops by rail fences, and in many in- 

 stances the c jrners of which are literally filled 

 with weeds, which we think is somewhat injuri- 

 ous to the fence — would it not be better for the 

 farmer to plow up that portion of land which he 

 intends for a fence row, and sow it in some kind 

 of grass seed previous to placing his fence upon 

 it- This kind of a crop would certainly be less 

 injurious than weeds, and in many instances pro- 

 duce hay of considerable value. 

 Yours, etc., 



American. 

 Fayetteville, July 2^, 18G1. 



Hedging is now so well understood that it will 

 come rapidly in use throughout Southern and 

 Central Illinois. Before the planting season ar- 

 rives we shall give plain directions in regard to 

 its planting and culture. On our trip thus far 

 with the "Farm Committee" we have observed 

 two fine lots of Osage plants ; one of fifty acres 

 which give promise of making very fine plants. 

 Of these we shall speak more at length in the 

 next number. 



Before the fence is put up the ground should 

 be plowed and sown to blue grass or Hurd's 

 grass and clover. Cattle and horses would feed 

 this close on the outside, and thus prevent loss 

 by fire, which annually sweeps off hundreds of 

 miles of rail fence. The inside grass could be 

 cut for hay, and when the stock is turned into 

 the field they will find a good supply of green 

 feed instead of dead weeds along the fence. 



A few days since we passed through St. Clair 

 county and can bear testimony to a good yield of 

 ifheat ; farmers complain of the Hessian fly and 

 mulgo — mention of which is made in another 

 place. Ed. 



— Why are black eyes called piercing ? Be- 

 cause they can look daggers when^they like. 



[Tom the Country Qentlpman aud Cultivator.] 



No. 29— The Army Worm Moth. 



Messrs. Tucker: I have an illustration of the 

 "pursuit of knowledge under difficulties" to 

 present. Dr John Bartlett of Pesoium, Cham- 

 paign county, I'ls., sends us in spirits, in a tin 

 tube, a specimen of the renowned Army worm, 

 and of the moth which is bred from it. Now 

 spirits is the ver.y best vehicle in which to pre- 

 serve and transmit all kinds of worms, spiders 

 and beetles ; but insects with delicate wings, 

 such as butterflies, moths and flies are u ual y 

 ruined by beiag wet, their wings becoming mat- 

 ted together in a wad, like a wet di?h cioih, and 

 if prettily colored, their colors are liable to be 

 altered or destroyed by spirits. An inexperi- 

 enced collector, therefore, will do best to place 

 such insects between layers of cotton in a small 

 box, to transmit them without injury by mail or 

 express. 



On emptying the tube from Dr. Bartlett it was 

 with deep regret that I saw this moth of the 

 army worm lying before me, soaked to a soft, 

 shapeless, black mass, which might on drying 

 wholly fail of showing me the sane colors and 

 spots which naturally belong to it. Ou carefully 

 disentangling and spreading its wings, and dry- 

 ing it, my fi.st step was to compare it with the 

 broken and effaced specimens received last year 

 from Dr. Jenkins of Maryland, mentioned in my 

 letter to Hon. B- P. Johnson, lately published ia 

 the Co. Gent. I hereupon saw that the army 

 worm in Maryland last year, and that now in Il- 

 linois were undoubted one and the same insect. 

 And now, by a searching look from one to the 

 other of these soiled and imprrfect specimens, I 

 was able to gather from them certain marks by 

 which I thought I could recognize this insect if 

 I chanced to have any other specimens of it in my 

 collection. Upon looking over the moths of the 

 cut worms I find nothing like this among them. 

 Turning then to another group, lo, here I have 

 it ! — two perfect specimens, received a few years 

 since in a fine collection from Prof. D. S. Shel- 

 don of Iowa College. Laus Dei! The riddle is 

 now read ! What for nearly a score of years I 

 have been so anxious to obtain I now have ! I 

 know what the moth of this army worm now is 1 

 And in the fulness of my joy hereupon, I thank 

 you. Prof. Sheldon, and you Dr. Bartlett, and 

 Dr. Jenkins, tach and all, that you have collect- 

 ively furnished me with such clues as have en- 

 abled me to nake this discovery. 



A short sketch of the history of this species, 

 as it appears in our works of science, will inter- 

 est the reader. Long ago, a preserved specimen 

 of this moth found its way into the then cele- 

 brated collection of Mr. Francillon in London. — 

 Upon the breaking up and sale of that collection, 

 this specimen passed into the possession of Mr. 

 Haworth, who, not doubting but that it had been 

 captured in England, de cribed it very briefly, in 

 the year 1810, in his Lepidoj}tera Brittanica, page 

 174, naming it nociua unipuncta, or the While 

 Speck, by which names it has ever tince been re- 

 ferred to by English authors and collectors, save 

 that a new generic name, Leucania, replaces that 



