﻿TRAVELING 
  HABITS 
  OF 
  THE 
  WORMS. 
  Ill 
  

  

  Worm 
  making 
  its 
  appearance 
  simultaneously, 
  stripped 
  the 
  straw 
  entirely 
  bare 
  of 
  

   blades 
  and 
  saved 
  tlie 
  berry 
  from 
  injury. 
  These 
  disgusting 
  pests 
  have 
  saved 
  thousands 
  

   of 
  dollars 
  to 
  farmers 
  in 
  this 
  neighborhood. 
  A 
  few 
  fields 
  of 
  corn 
  and 
  grass 
  have 
  been 
  

   partially 
  destroyed, 
  but, 
  by 
  ditching 
  around 
  fields, 
  the 
  worm's 
  ravages 
  have 
  been 
  con- 
  

   lined 
  within 
  comparatively 
  narrow 
  limits." 
  (Riley, 
  2d 
  Mo. 
  Ent. 
  Report, 
  pp. 
  54, 
  55.) 
  

  

  They 
  avoid 
  the 
  rays 
  of 
  the 
  sun 
  ; 
  hence 
  during 
  the 
  day 
  they 
  crawl 
  under 
  stones 
  and 
  

   sticks, 
  as 
  closely 
  as 
  they 
  can 
  crowd 
  themselves 
  together, 
  and 
  under 
  swaths 
  of 
  grass 
  or 
  

   grain, 
  or 
  even 
  into 
  the 
  ground, 
  like 
  the 
  cut-worm. 
  They 
  rest 
  in 
  such 
  places 
  during, 
  

   the 
  heat 
  of 
  the 
  day, 
  and 
  come 
  out 
  towards 
  sunset, 
  to 
  feed 
  and 
  continue 
  forward 
  in 
  

   their 
  mighty 
  march. 
  If 
  they 
  come 
  to 
  a 
  field 
  of 
  grass 
  or 
  grain 
  that 
  is 
  young 
  and 
  ten- 
  

   der 
  they 
  devour 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  it, 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  very 
  roots; 
  but 
  if 
  it 
  is 
  grown 
  up 
  to 
  

   stalks, 
  they 
  eat 
  the 
  leaves 
  only, 
  and 
  then 
  usually 
  crawl 
  to 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  stalk 
  and 
  

   cut 
  off 
  the 
  head 
  and 
  dro^^ 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  ground. 
  In 
  corn, 
  too, 
  they 
  eat 
  off 
  all 
  the 
  leaves- 
  

   except 
  the 
  coarse 
  keel 
  or 
  mid 
  vein. 
  One 
  writer 
  noticed 
  a 
  worm 
  to 
  eat 
  a 
  square 
  inch 
  

   of 
  corn 
  leaf 
  in 
  thirty 
  minutes. 
  It 
  is 
  leaves 
  which 
  are 
  green 
  and 
  juicy 
  that 
  they 
  eat 
  ;. 
  

   the 
  dry 
  leaves 
  of 
  ripened 
  grain 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  feed 
  ui)0u. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  They 
  all 
  keep 
  to- 
  

   gether 
  like 
  an 
  array 
  of 
  soldiers, 
  and 
  usually 
  advance 
  in 
  a 
  particular 
  direction, 
  in 
  a 
  

   straight 
  line, 
  not 
  swerving 
  from 
  their 
  course 
  to 
  avoid 
  hills, 
  hollows, 
  buildings 
  or 
  any 
  

   other 
  obstacle. 
  A 
  stream 
  of 
  running 
  water, 
  even, 
  does 
  not 
  cause 
  them 
  to 
  deflect 
  from, 
  

   their 
  line 
  of 
  march. 
  We 
  learn 
  from 
  Solon 
  Robinson 
  that, 
  on 
  coming 
  to 
  a 
  brook 
  they 
  

   crowd 
  into 
  it, 
  although 
  very 
  few 
  of 
  them 
  chance 
  to 
  be 
  carried 
  by 
  its 
  current 
  to 
  the 
  

   opposite 
  side. 
  Millions 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  drowned, 
  their 
  dead 
  bodies 
  clogging 
  and 
  dam- 
  

   ming 
  up 
  the 
  stream 
  in 
  places 
  below, 
  producing 
  by 
  their 
  decay 
  a 
  stench 
  in 
  the 
  atmos- 
  

   phere 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  vicinity 
  which 
  is 
  most 
  noisome 
  and 
  intolerable. 
  In 
  their 
  march 
  

   they 
  travel 
  faster 
  at 
  some 
  times 
  than 
  others, 
  advancing 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  from 
  two 
  to- 
  

   six 
  rods 
  in 
  airhour. 
  Thus 
  instances 
  have 
  occurred 
  in 
  which 
  an 
  army 
  of 
  these 
  worms, 
  

   two 
  or 
  three 
  miles 
  wide, 
  have 
  advanced 
  six 
  or 
  seven 
  miles, 
  leaving 
  the 
  track 
  behind 
  

   them 
  as 
  desolate 
  as 
  though 
  fire 
  had 
  swept 
  over 
  it. 
  (Fitch, 
  pp. 
  VI, 
  pp. 
  117, 
  118.) 
  

  

  Ttiey 
  usually 
  commence 
  marching 
  when 
  about 
  half 
  or 
  two-thirds 
  grown 
  ; 
  and 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  

   I 
  have 
  observed, 
  those 
  leaving 
  one 
  field 
  all 
  march 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  direction, 
  but 
  not 
  always, 
  

   as 
  is 
  supposed 
  by 
  some, 
  with 
  unfailing 
  certainty, 
  toward 
  another 
  field 
  in 
  which 
  there 
  

   is 
  proj^er 
  food, 
  for 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  hereafter 
  mentioned, 
  where, 
  in 
  1875, 
  they 
  left 
  a 
  meadow 
  

   near 
  our 
  town, 
  the 
  movement 
  was 
  directly 
  toward 
  town 
  — 
  no 
  field 
  with 
  any 
  suitable 
  

   food 
  being 
  nearer 
  than 
  a 
  mile 
  in 
  that 
  direction. 
  Nor 
  is 
  it 
  true 
  that 
  they 
  always 
  re- 
  

   main 
  in 
  one 
  place 
  so 
  long 
  as 
  su^cient 
  food 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  there, 
  for 
  in 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  

   instance 
  I 
  have 
  known 
  them 
  to 
  leave 
  a 
  field 
  abundantly 
  supplied 
  with 
  suitable 
  food 
  

   and 
  march 
  into 
  others. 
  In 
  one 
  instance, 
  where 
  they 
  attacked 
  a 
  field 
  of 
  oats 
  and 
  pene- 
  

   trated 
  it 
  a 
  short 
  distance, 
  mowing 
  it 
  as 
  they 
  proceeded, 
  they 
  suddenly 
  quit 
  it. 
  There 
  

   does 
  not 
  api)ear 
  to 
  be 
  any 
  uniformity 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  the 
  different 
  armies, 
  or 
  armies 
  

   from 
  different 
  fields, 
  take. 
  In 
  1875, 
  the 
  army 
  from 
  one 
  field 
  was 
  moving 
  directly 
  south,, 
  

   while 
  that 
  from 
  another 
  moved 
  directly 
  east. 
  While 
  marching, 
  they 
  move 
  with 
  rapid 
  

   motions 
  and 
  apparently 
  with 
  an 
  uneasy 
  feeling, 
  especially 
  if 
  the 
  sun 
  is 
  shining. 
  The- 
  

   following 
  statement, 
  from 
  the 
  Prairie 
  Farmer 
  of 
  July 
  4, 
  1861, 
  is 
  probably 
  not 
  over- 
  

   drawn 
  : 
  

  

  ''An 
  army 
  of 
  them 
  was 
  observed 
  to 
  travel 
  60 
  yards 
  in 
  two 
  hours, 
  in 
  an 
  effort 
  to 
  get 
  

   around 
  a 
  ditch. 
  They 
  began 
  to 
  travel 
  from 
  the 
  infested 
  districts 
  between 
  two 
  and 
  

   three 
  o'clock, 
  p. 
  m. 
  ; 
  toward 
  sundown 
  the 
  tide 
  of 
  travel 
  was 
  retrograde. 
  They 
  did 
  

   not 
  travel 
  at 
  night; 
  they 
  feed 
  chiefly 
  by 
  night 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  forenoon. 
  As 
  to 
  their 
  num- 
  

   ber, 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  seen 
  moving 
  from 
  one 
  field 
  to 
  another, 
  three 
  tiers 
  deep; 
  a 
  ditch 
  has. 
  

   been 
  filled 
  with 
  them 
  to 
  the 
  deiath 
  of 
  three 
  incites 
  in 
  half 
  an 
  hour." 
  (Thomas's 
  Fifth 
  

   Illinois 
  Report, 
  p. 
  16.) 
  

  

  The 
  Army 
  Worm 
  is 
  an 
  epicure 
  and 
  therefore 
  unlike 
  the 
  grasshopper 
  and 
  locust. 
  

   When 
  in 
  moderate 
  numbers 
  they 
  are 
  more 
  choice 
  in 
  the 
  selection 
  of 
  their 
  food 
  than 
  

   they 
  can 
  be 
  where 
  the 
  fields 
  are 
  overrun 
  by 
  their 
  hordes, 
  then 
  they 
  select 
  the 
  tender- 
  

  

  