108 .AMERICAX HOilE OAEPEX. 



The moths that become the parent of the cut TTorm are not 

 certainly kno^yn, but are supposed by Dr. Fitch to be the dart 

 moth above referred to, and other evening or cmlet moths of 

 similar character. 



The eggs are dropped upon the ground in the latter part of 

 summer ; they soon hatch, and the yoimg worm cra-wls into 

 the groimd and feeds upon the roots and young shoots of her- 

 baceous phmts. -When cold T\-cather comes it descends a few 

 inches l^elow the surface, and remains torpid till spring. Late 

 in the summer it becomes a chrysalis, which resembles a long, 

 thin egg, of a chestnut-ljrown color, ha\ang several impressed 

 rings or joints towai'd its pointed or tail end. From this, in 

 three or fom- weeks, the miller or moth comes forth, the parent 

 of another generation. 



The cut worm is of various shades, from light drab to black, 

 and of different varieties, which are not cle;nly distinguished 

 by writers on insects, ilost of them have the habit, whence 

 their name is derived, of cutting off the yoimg leaves or ten- 

 der stems of plants just aljove the ground, and drawing them 

 into the mouth of their hole, fm-nishing, like some other thieves, 

 a clew to discovery l^y the effort to hide. 



The reil-headed cut womis, or tiger worms, found south of 

 Xow York, cut mider ground. Their depredations are contin- 

 ued throughout the summer upon the young com, beans, pep- 

 pers, etc., but they are most numerous in June and July, at 

 which time they are so destructive to the yoimg, freshly-set 

 cabijage-rjlants that it is common for market-gardeners to de- 

 fer planting until they disappear, which they generally do neax 

 New York before the first of August, going deeper into the 

 ground, and assuming the chrysalis form. 



The crow, vath some other birds, and a species of dragon-fly, 

 are inveterate enemies of the cut worm, and Fitch recom- 

 mends the making of deep holes with a stick about their places 

 of resort, into vrhich they fall, and, it is supposed, can nijt get 

 out. This, however, would ap^jeai- not only doubtful, but also 

 as involving, perhaps, more labor than the ordinaiy and direct 

 com'se, which is simply to glance along the rows of yom- crop 

 early in the day. and, wherever the presence of the marauder is 



