WIRE W'URMS AND CUT WORMS 211 



Prevention. Nothing can be done to eradicate this pest after it 

 has attacked a plant, without injuring- the plant itself. Poisons of 

 the most deadly sort have been applied to corn previous to planting, 

 without bringing the desired results. It appears that the only alterna- 

 tive lies in a rotation of crops. The trouble lies in the fact that the 

 larval stage lasts two years. The second year after the plowing of 

 the sod is when the largest damage is done to the corn field, due to 

 the greater amount of grass that is present in the field in which the 

 larvae can live the first year after plowing. The scanty amount of 

 grass. the second year compels the worm to center its attacks more 

 especially on the corn. Should the sod be plowed in the fall and 

 sown to fall or winter wheat, seeding to clover the following spring, 

 or sowing oats in the spring and seeding to clover, a crop may be had 

 the following fall from one of these cereals, and the next year a crop 

 of clover may be harvested. It will be seen that in this way the larva is 

 given the two years in which to mature and pupate. The small grain 

 following the sod is not likely to be seriously injured. The clover 

 coming the second year when the pupating takes place, the ground will 

 then be free of the larvae, and when fall plowed little fear need be 

 entertained regarding the wire worm attacking corn the year follow- 

 ing, which would be the third year after breaking the sod, and the 

 crops intervening would not have seriously suffered. 



When replanting is necessary, it is advisable to straddle the rows 

 and leave the old plants standing, for if these are destroyed the worm 

 will immediately attack the new plants and a second poor stand will 

 result. A little later the old plants may be plowed out. 



Fall plowing assists greatly in destroying the pupae, bringing them 

 to the surface where the birds can devour them, and the cold weather 

 will help to retard their development. 



CUT WORMS. These caterpillars are exceedingly harmful at 

 times, their damage being of a very injurious nature. They attack the 



Clay-backed Cutworm. (Feliia filadiaria) Enlarged. 



young plant by eating off the leaves and portions of the stalk, often 

 cutting the plant off close to the ground. This work is done at night. 

 In the daytime they may be found hiding under clods or buried just 

 beneath the surface of the ground. They have the conspicuous habit 

 of curling up. Their larvae vary in color from a whitish t(j a dark 



