52 
HAND-PICKING OF CORN. 
Iii May, from the time when boll- worm injuries are first noticed in the 
buds of corn plants, the infested ones should be crushed in the hands so 
as to kill the worms found in them. To determine whether this could be 
successfully done, the method was tried while taking notes on the num- 
ber of worms and infested plants in a field during May and June. The 
result is given in Table I, and shows that of a total of 20 larvae, 23 (7 
half grown and 16 very young) were crushed. It is therefore a sat- 
isfactory process. From the same table it is found that only 2.6 per 
cent of the plants showed injury. Hence but little time will be required 
to go over a large field in this manner. After an interval of two weeks, 
the process should be repeated. This will decrease the numbers of the 
later broods to such an extent that in many slightly-infested regions 
nothing further will be necessary, especially if infested ears of sweet 
corn be burned instead of simply thrown away. 
TRAP-CORN EXPERIMENTS. 
Experiment 1. 
A portion of a plantation owned by Mr. Dan. Nicholson was kindly set aside by 
him for a trap-corn experiment. The field was rich Red River bottom land, bordered 
on the east by a large forest, but surrounded on all other sides by cotton fields. 
Five rows were left vacant on the outer edge of the held, then eighteen rows of cot- 
ton planted, four more rows left vacant, then eighteen of cotton, and so on. The 
cotton was planted at the usual time. Two rows of each of the vacant strips were 
planted in corn April 4. May 7 this corn averaged about 1 foot in height. No boll 
worms were found in the buds of the plants, though in a held of corn some 300 yards 
away, which had been planted at the usual time, a few were collected. This field 
of early planted corn was near the garden and was surrounded on two sides by 
fences which were thickly grown over by dowering plants and dewberry vines. As 
no worms were found some distance from the edge of the field, it was evident that 
the first brood of moths had been somewhat attracted to the adjoining blossom- 
ing plants near the hedge and in the garden, and had confined their deposition to 
the outer edges of the field. This becomes an important factor when considering the 
feasibility of resort to killing the first brood of worms in the buds of corn by crush- 
ing. This does not apply to larger areas of corn whftre similar attractions are not 
near at hand. The trap corn was not so situated, but was in the midst of a large 
plantation, away from such early inducements. 
On July 3 a visit to the trap crop was made. It was, and probably for some days 
had been, silking profusely just as the second brood of moths was issuing. By July 
6 the first planting had passed its prime in point of silking, though still in fit con- 
dition to receive the deposition of many eggs. At the time of the July 3 visit the 
following study of the number of larva? found in the young ears was made: 
Plant. 
Ears. 
Larvae. 
1 
2 
6 
2 
1 
1 
3 
•) 
4 
4 
2 
2 
3 
7 
5 
6 
2 
5 
7 
2 
3 
8 
1 
1 
1 
7' 
0... 
10 
2 
2 
11 
Total 
1 
2 
18 
41 
