lyo 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVI. No. 406 



elongata Fabr., which was found swarming in numbers, slseleton- 

 izing the leaves, and frequently kiUing the young plants. Mr. 

 Porter stated that he was compelled to replant on account of 

 them. 



On a neighboring farm, owned by Mr. Z. Rouch, almost as much 

 damage had been done by the army-worm as on the former place. 

 A large corn-field and a field of timothy were totally ruined. A 

 wheat-field, further advanced than that of Mr. Porter's, was less 

 seriously affected, although it did not escape entirely, the blades 

 of the wheat and the young timothy being entirely eaten up by 

 them. It was on this place that the effects of the worms on bar- 

 ley were seen. Quite a large field already in head was completely 

 ruined. 



In the afternoon probably the largest farm in the county was 

 visited, that of the Hon. D. N. Dennis, comprising five hundred 

 acres or more. No better place existed for the proper study of 

 the pest, as the worms were swarming in all the fields by the 

 Tnillions, and it was just the proper time of day to see them most 

 advantageously, four o'clock p.m. The ground was literally black 

 with the crawling worms. Mr. Dennis had made no especial 

 ■efforts to destroy them, although, like some of his neighbors, he 

 liad suiTounded some of his fields with ditches in an attempt to 

 keep them out of adjoining fields. It' is believed that it would 

 have been quite practicable to have destroyed many thousands 

 with poisonous washes, or, as Mr. Porter did, by burning straw 

 in the ditches, as the bottom of the ditches were black with 

 worms. 



This farm is divided by a central lane, on either side of which 

 an fields of wheat, corn, grass, oats, etc. ; and in passing through 

 this lane the worms were found quite plentiful, crawling almost 

 invariably in the direction of the prevailing wind. 



One of the first fields passed was an immense wheat-field already 

 in the head, and the worms could be plainly discernible on the 

 ground all through it and on the stalks and heads. The worms, 

 having already devoured the young timothy and other tender 

 plants usually found growing there, the blades of the wheat, the 

 husks, and a goodly portion of the kernels, evidently could not 

 find sufficient food, and were now migrating to pastures new, the 

 sides of the field being black with moving hosts seeking more 

 nutritious food. 



These, as well as all the others observed, were moving in a south- 

 westerly direction, — the direction of the prevailing wind. They 

 were apparently in all stages of growth, from little fellows not 

 more than a quarter of an inch long, to the fully matured larvae, 

 and all got over the ground and every obstacle in their way with 

 the most surprising rapidity. The fences, posts, and other obsta- 

 cles in their way were no obstruction to their migratory in- 

 stmct or their search for food. The fence-rails and posts were 

 often covered with crawling worms, sometimes not less than a 

 dozen worms being found on the top of a single tall post, while 

 others were seen going up one side as others were going down the 

 opposite. Some specimens were even found under the loose bark 

 on the posts and rails, where they had probably crept for shelter. 

 One specimen thus found was in the jaws of a large hairy spider, 

 Saliicus sp. 



Adjacent to this wheat-field was a large field of timothy, con- 

 taining seventeen acres, the blades of which had been cut off by 

 the worms as clean as cattle could have done. Mr. Jones, the 

 overseer, said that this field would have harvested not less than 

 three tons of hay to the acre, but that now it would not pay for 

 the cutting. 



At one side of this field, the side next the wheat, the worms 

 had congregated in countless numbers, every square foot having 

 not less than thirty to fifty worms. The worms were now com- 

 ing out of this field and going into the adjoining wheat-field, and 

 crossing the lane into the opposite fields in great numbers; and it 

 was here that a fiock of the common English sparrows, and a few 

 robins picking out the smaller worms and feeding on them, were 

 observed. Mr. Jones said that the English sparrows had been 

 thus busily engaged for a whole week, and it is a pleasure to 

 record here this fact in favor of the despised bird. 



Some distance off from this field was another one of wheat, con- 

 taining probably twenty acres, in which the worms were even 



more numerous; and they had already sufficiently injured it to 

 render the crop unprofitable to harvest. A deep, broad ditch had 

 been dug along one side, and it was now, about five o'clock p.m., 

 black with worms. It seemed a pity that these worms were not 

 killed, as many of them were able to crawl up the sides, and escape 

 into adjoining fields 



Facing this field was a large corn-field of probably seventy-five 

 acres, of which fifty acres had already been destroyed; and there 

 was but a slight chance that any of the corn still left would escape, 

 although by ditching an effort was being made to save it. Of the 

 fifty acres destroyed, thirty acres had already been replanted; and 

 in the newly ploughed portion the worms were seen moving about 

 in all directions, having just entered it from the adjoining wheat. 

 It is probable that most of these will die of starvation or from the 

 effects of the hot sun in the middle of the day. 



Messrs. Hayward and Ashmead were particularly struck with 

 what Professor Riley has written about the army-worm not feed- 

 ing on clover. Of the several clover-fields they saw, the worms 

 passed entirely through them, eating the timothy, other grasses, 

 and some weeds, but leaving the clover almost untouched. A few 

 of the leaves and some of the heads were slightly eaten, but no 

 appreciable injury was observed. Only once did they actually 

 observe a worm eating it, and that was a single half grown 

 specimen curled up on the head, devouring the most palatable 

 portions. 



The present outbreak seems to be quite local, within a radius of 

 ten to fifteen miles; and of the origin and previous outbreaks but 

 little was ascertained. All the farmers and others interviewed 

 concurred in the opinion that the winter of 1889-90 had been un- 

 usually mild and dry, and a few reported having observed the 

 worms feeding on warm days during the winter. 



On the following day they visited Salisbury, but found nothing 

 of importance to prolong their stay there. Messrs. L. Malone and 

 W. B. Tighlman said that the army-worm had not as yet appeared 

 on any of the farms in the immediate vicinity, and no serious in- 

 jury had been done nearer than three miles. 



Mr. Tighlman reported the oat-crop of this whole region this 

 year a total failure from the depredations of the grain aphis, 

 Siphonophora avence Fabr. 



WHEAT-SMUT. 



The August Bulletin of the Kansas Experiment Station contains 

 the report of an exhaustive experiment in the prevention of the 

 stinking-smut of wheat, the results of which are so valuable that 

 they should have the widest possible dissemination. 



It is a well-known fact that smut and similar growths are due 

 to parasitic fungi, which propagate by spores (similar to seeds of 

 other plants) ; these spores being, in the case of wheat-smut, the 

 black stinking-powder that is found inside the smutted grains. 

 In threshing, these grains are broken, and the spores are scattered 

 over healthy grains, with which they are planted and on which 

 they take root and grow, sending up in the issues of the young 

 plant microscopic threads, which grow with its growth; and 

 when the wheat heads out, they penetrate the grains, and there 

 absorb the nutriment intended for the grain, and convert it into 

 the fetid smut. 



Knowing this history of the smut, it is easy to understand that 

 any treatment that will kill the spores of the smut on the seed- 

 grain will reduce the injury to the following crop. It has long 

 been known that this might be accomplished by soaking the seed- 

 grain in solution of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), but this 

 process has the disadvantage of injuring the vitality of the seed- 

 grain. The Kansas experiment was undertaken with a view of 

 ascertaining whether the desired object might be accomplished with- 

 out this injury. In this experiment fifty-one different methods of 

 treatment were employed. Some killed the grain as well as 

 smut ; some did little or no good. The most effective treatment 

 was found to be simply scalding the seed, — a method first pub- 

 lished by J. L. Jensen of Denmark. 



To accomplish this, the seed should be handled in loose baskets, 

 such as will permit the water to pass readily through them. It 

 should first be dipped in water warmed to from 110° to 130°, 



