494 
Journal of Agricultural Research voi. xxvi. No. io 
SYMPTOMS AND POST-MORTEM CHANGES 
Worms infected by puncture become sluggish and cease to feed. The 
feces become thin and are slowly discharged, and a watery fluid oozes 
from the mouth. The turgidity and plumpness which characterize the 
appearance of the healthy larvae are lost in those that are sick. Death 
occurs in from two to four days as a rule after puncture inoculation, the 
period depending largely upon the temperature environment of the worms. 
After death the remains of the worms are soft, and the color changes 
to a brown which deepens as the process of decay continues. During 
the decomposition of the tissues a thick, brown, nonviscid mass is formed 
which on drying becomes brittle. The chitinous wall continues intact 
and on drying the remains become a shriveled, more or less black, mum¬ 
mified mass that retains in general the original form of the worm. The 
decay is accompanied by a slight odor, which is at no time disagreeable. 
It seems probable that there might be disturbances within the ali¬ 
mentary tract from the ingestion of Bacillus noctuarum without resulting 
in a septicemia. The symptoms of such a condition, if indeed it occurs 
at all, are yet to be learned. 
MODE OF TRANSMISSION 
The portal of entry of the infecting organism in cutworm septicemia, 
as pointed out above, has not been definitely determined. It has been 
demonstrated, however, that in the diseased worm the causal bacillus 
multiplies rapidly in the blood and within the alimentary tract, furnish¬ 
ing thus a source for an increase of the germ. In moist soil the bacillus 
remains viable over long periods, continuing in this way the possibility 
for infection. 
From the observations yet recorded it does not seem that this disease 
in nature spreads readily, at least during the more active growing season 
for the crops on which cutworms feed. One is led to expect that such 
might be true from the observation that the infection is not easily trans¬ 
mitted experimentally through feeding inoculations. These facts, to¬ 
gether with the observation that Bacillus noctuarum is readily destroyed 
through drying, point to the conclusion that the use of cultures of this 
organism can not be recommended at the present time as an economic 
measure for the artificial control of the disease. 
DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT 
If cutworms seem sluggish, cease to feed, and die, and the remains 
become soft and turn brown to almost black, cutworm septicemia may 
be suspected. The disease may be more strongly suspected if healthy 
worms inoculated with material from dead ones show symptoms and 
post-mortem changes which have been noted for the disorder. To make 
a positive diagnosis, however, it is necessary to demonstrate the presence 
of Bacillus noctuarum in the sick larvae or the remains of those recently 
dead. Microscopic preparations made from worms sick or recently 
dead of the disease will contain numerous, short, nonspore-bearing rods. 
Agar plates streaked with the tissues of such worms will show in 24 hours 
at room temperature a well-defined bluish gray growth of an actively 
motile bacillus. 
The prognosis in an infected worm in which a septicemia has actually 
occurred is particularly grave. Cases in which the infecting organism 
can be demonstrated in the blood probably all die, especially if the 
temperature at which the worms are kept is such as ordinarily prevails 
