CUTWORMS atiack the young 
plants of cabbage, collards, toma- 
toes, corn, and almost all other gar- 
den plants. They cut these plants off 
at the surface of the ground. These 
insects are likely to be present in 
soil that was in grass and weeds the 
year before. Newly set plants should 
be protected by collars at the time 
of planting. The collars should be 
made of paper and should be about 
the size and weight of a 1-cent post 
card. Wrap the paper around the 
plant as illustrated. Leave ample 
space for air to circulate between 
the collar and the plant, and allow 
the collar to extend into the soil 
about 1 inch. Cutworms will crawl 
from plant to plant, and each 
worm may cut off several plants. 
For this reason, any cutworms found 
should be killed. A pinch of poisoned 
bait placed at the base of each 
plant will prevent further damage. 
Also, a poison bait scattered thinly 
on the ground just before the plants 
are set will attract the cutworms,and 
the small amount of bait they eat 
will kill them. 
For making and applying bait, 
see discussion of grasshoppers (p. 
12). 
