STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
CUT-WORMS. DIFFERENT OPERATIONS OF THE TWO WORMS. 
811 
tion in the fields, none of them being met with in the gardens. It was on 
the 20th of June that, in examining a cornfield, I first noticed this second 
worm, lying under the sods, it being of a white or pale smoky color with a 
bright tawny yellow head, and the same kind which I have heretofore 
named the Yellow-headed Cut-worm This cornfield had been broken up 
just before planting, and the roots of the grass were still juicy, succulent 
and unwithered, at least in all the larger masses of turf; and this worm 
evidently preferred (these grass-roots to the young corn; for on examining 
a multitude of the hills of corn in whiqh one or more of the young plants 
had been cut off, it was invariably the Striped worm first mentioned, which 
was discovered there; not one of these Yellow-headed worms had as yet 
molested the corn. Five days afterwards, this same'cornfield was again 
visited. The weather in the interval had been warm and dry, whereby the 
grass-roots in the clumps of turf had become dry and withered, unadapted 
for feeding the worms any longer. And now on examining where the 
blades of young corn had been newly cut off, the mischief was discovered 
to have been done in nearly half the instances by this Yellow-headed worm, 
which was found lying in the earth contiguous to the severed plant. Thus, 
it was sufficiently demonstrated that so long as it could find any roots of 
grass for its nourishment, this worm did not molest the corn. Therefore 
the corn remained unattacked by it, until about the date specified, namely, 
the 25th of June. A few years before, however, I found this same Yellow¬ 
headed Gut-worm making severe havoc in a cornfield at the very beginning 
of June—there probably being no juicy roots of grass in this field, on 
which it was able to sustain itself. Having the fact thus established, that 
these worms will not trouble the corn, so long as they are able to find grass 
in the field on which to nourish themselves, it becomes an important ques¬ 
tion to be considered, whether, after all, it may not be better to break up 
our corn ground in the spring than in the fall; so that hereby, a portion of 
the roots of the turf may remain sufficiently fresh and unwithered to 
feed these Gut-worms and hereby keep them back from falling upon the 
corn. This is a difficult subject to determine ; and it is only by repeated 
observations, carefully made, that it can be satisfactorily settled. 
The operations of these two worms were so very different that upon see¬ 
ing a severed plant it was readily told which worm it was that had cut it 
off', and would be found lying in the ground by its side. The smaller 
Striped worm, which first appeared, cut off’ the plants half an inch or an 
inch above the surface of the ground; and many of the plants, being sever¬ 
ed at this height, survive the injury, new leaves pushing up from tho 
centre of the stump. Instances were noticed, in which the worm had cut 
off the plant above the lower leaf, which leaf remaining, green and thrifty, 
the plant would thereby be vigorously sustained while new leaves were 
putting forth from its centre. The larger Yellow-headed worm, on the other 
hand, severs the plants almost an inch below the surface of the ground, 
whereby they are effectually killed in every instance. This worm also 
lies deeper in the ground than the other, it being usually met with about 
two inches below the surface, whilst the smaller worm only goes down 
