﻿142 
  EEPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  compass. 
  Here 
  tlie 
  plirase 
  \tas 
  '' 
  They 
  moved 
  towards 
  the 
  sea," 
  that 
  is, 
  

   south 
  ; 
  but 
  in 
  another 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  county 
  the 
  movement 
  seemed 
  north. 
  

  

  Many 
  years 
  ago 
  I 
  saw 
  an 
  army 
  moviug 
  west, 
  butthe 
  Greeley 
  precept 
  

   was 
  rife 
  at 
  that 
  time. 
  I 
  attach 
  no 
  importance 
  to 
  the 
  above, 
  my 
  belief 
  

   being 
  that 
  the 
  insect, 
  attracted 
  by 
  scent, 
  in 
  which 
  perhaps 
  the 
  wind 
  

   plays 
  a 
  part, 
  moves 
  simply 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  food. 
  A 
  point 
  of 
  greater 
  

   consequence 
  is 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  movement. 
  From 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  ob- 
  

   servations 
  I 
  believe 
  the 
  time 
  is 
  about 
  seven 
  days 
  after 
  the 
  hatching. 
  '^'^ 
  

   When 
  first 
  hatched 
  they 
  are 
  so 
  small 
  that 
  the 
  damage 
  they 
  effect 
  is 
  

   slow, 
  and 
  their 
  feeding 
  is 
  restricted 
  to 
  the 
  tender 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  grass. 
  

   After 
  this 
  comes 
  the 
  first 
  march 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  ravenous 
  enough 
  to 
  clean 
  

   up 
  as 
  they 
  go. 
  

  

  That 
  was 
  a 
  triumph 
  of 
  painstaking 
  patience 
  and 
  admirable 
  skill 
  when 
  

   Eiley 
  cleared 
  up 
  the 
  mystery 
  of 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  Army 
  Worm. 
  Nor 
  can 
  

   I 
  forget 
  my 
  own 
  delight 
  when, 
  in 
  his 
  laboratory 
  at 
  Saint 
  Louis, 
  in; 
  June, 
  

   1876, 
  he 
  showed 
  me 
  the 
  live 
  insects 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  raised 
  from 
  the 
  larvae; 
  

   nay, 
  more, 
  right 
  before 
  my 
  eyes 
  was 
  the 
  mother 
  Leucania 
  unipuncta 
  

   laying 
  her 
  eggs 
  in 
  the 
  axils 
  of 
  dry 
  stubble 
  and 
  green 
  grass. 
  For 
  sci- 
  

   ence 
  that 
  was 
  a 
  grand 
  discovery. 
  Still 
  more's 
  the 
  pity 
  how 
  few 
  farmers 
  

   make 
  of 
  it 
  "a 
  coign 
  e 
  of 
  vantage." 
  Nay, 
  to 
  some 
  good 
  husbandmen 
  do 
  

   we 
  not 
  seem 
  in 
  these 
  searchings 
  to 
  tamper 
  profanely 
  : 
  

  

  And 
  take 
  upon 
  's 
  the 
  my.stery 
  of 
  things, 
  

   As 
  if 
  we 
  were 
  God's 
  9i>ies. 
  

  

  These 
  appearings 
  are 
  regarded 
  as 
  almost 
  miraculous. 
  Says 
  the 
  per- 
  

   l)lexed 
  rustic 
  : 
  "They 
  come 
  in 
  great 
  armies— 
  and 
  all 
  of 
  a 
  sudden 
  — 
  and 
  

   as 
  suddenly 
  disappear." 
  Or, 
  as 
  Daffie 
  said, 
  " 
  There 
  wasn't 
  one 
  there 
  

   yesterday, 
  but 
  this 
  morning, 
  lo! 
  a 
  great 
  multitude 
  which 
  no 
  man 
  can 
  

   number." 
  Friends, 
  this 
  is 
  a 
  delusion. 
  They 
  were 
  there 
  yesterday 
  and 
  

   several 
  days. 
  They 
  do 
  not 
  come 
  suddenly. 
  You 
  do 
  not 
  observe 
  their 
  

   coming, 
  you 
  only 
  see 
  them 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  on 
  you 
  in 
  great 
  numbers. 
  

   Watched 
  from 
  the 
  . 
  eggs 
  their 
  life-career 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  other 
  caterpillars. 
  

   The 
  following 
  should 
  enable 
  one 
  to 
  observe 
  them 
  at 
  their 
  starting-point 
  

   and 
  to 
  stamp 
  them 
  out 
  at 
  the 
  beginning: 
  

  

  First. 
  It 
  is 
  important 
  to 
  know 
  token 
  to 
  look 
  for 
  the 
  laying 
  of 
  the 
  eggs. 
  

   Of 
  course 
  much 
  depends 
  on 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  season. 
  With 
  us 
  it 
  is 
  

   usually 
  the 
  first 
  week 
  in 
  June, 
  but 
  in 
  1880, 
  for 
  reasons 
  already 
  men- 
  

   tioned, 
  the 
  laying 
  was 
  not 
  later 
  than 
  the 
  20th 
  of 
  May. 
  

  

  Second. 
  Where 
  should 
  we 
  look 
  for 
  them 
  *? 
  Thanks 
  to 
  Riley, 
  we 
  know 
  

   how 
  the 
  eggs 
  look 
  and 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  plant 
  where 
  they 
  are 
  laid. 
  The 
  

   farmer, 
  however, 
  needs, 
  if 
  possible, 
  to 
  know 
  just 
  where 
  on 
  his 
  farm 
  he 
  

   should 
  look 
  for 
  the 
  infested 
  plants. 
  I 
  think 
  generally 
  the 
  grain-fields 
  

   are 
  preferred 
  by 
  the 
  moth 
  when 
  seeking 
  a 
  nesting 
  place 
  for 
  her 
  eggs. 
  

   But 
  if 
  the 
  weather 
  be 
  favorable, 
  and 
  the 
  young 
  clover 
  and 
  grass 
  in 
  the 
  

   best 
  condition, 
  she 
  will 
  also 
  be 
  found 
  laying 
  in 
  the 
  young 
  grass 
  of 
  last 
  

   fall's 
  stubble-field 
  and 
  in 
  old 
  meadows. 
  In 
  this 
  case 
  we 
  should 
  look 
  for 
  

  

  4^ 
  It 
  ia 
  in 
  reality 
  generally 
  somewhat 
  later.— 
  C. 
  V. 
  R. 
  

  

  