June, ’20] 
SHERMAN: GREEN CLOVER WORM 
301 
Inquiries after the outbreak was over proved that those who acted 
promptly on the advice were well pleased, though all appreciated that 
their applications would have been more effective if given earlier. 
Very early-maturing varieties suffered much more than the ranker¬ 
growing later varieties. The difference was so pronounced as to be 
important, but we will not here discuss it further. 
We did not find occasion to use a contact insecticide for the young 
larvae, the arsenate was effective and safe for our purpose on this crop. 
We did not find it necessary to use any special effort or adjustment to 
reach the under side of the leaves, the larvae soon ate all the way 
through on the young soy bean leaves. We did not find it necessary to 
make a painstaking application to all the leaves, if the uppermost 
expanded leaves were well treated the great majority of the worms were 
killed; hence the application could be made rapidly, and this was 
essential in such a wholesale outbreak as we were dealing with. We 
did not find it practicable to collect the larvae in nets or sheets, for when 
a plant was suddenly and violently shaken certainly not over half of 
them fell. Collection of the moths by nets was wholly impracticable 
of economic results. They were only indifferently attracted to lights, 
we tried lanterns and bon-fires with negative results. Bait traps were 
also tried without important results. 
Powdered arsenate of lead at rate of one pound to eight pounds of 
lime was effective, it was safe to the plant, and it is practicable in 
large areas of soy beans, more so of course when grown in rows,—it is 
not too costly, it pays a good profit on its use, especially if applied 
before the injury reaches its maximum. We admit that this calls for 
promptness with emphasis on every letter of the word. 
Possible Danger in Using the Hay 
This one point remains. Would it be dangerous to use the hay 
after such treatment as here advised? Important as this question 
seemed to the writer at first, it now holds little interest. Contem¬ 
plated tests were not possible. 
A plot dusted August 8 showed very little evidence of the dust on 
September 11, and as only one-ninth of this was arsenate the possible 
danger seems too remote for consideration. Normal harvest was still 
one or two months away by which time it is a moral certainty that all 
material danger would have been removed. As time went on the 
material disappeared from the plants, the question seemed to become 
trivial; farmers who at first questioned took the same view, they have 
ignored the fact that poison was ever applied, and we have had no 
recent questions and have not heard of any bad results. 
