CUT-WORMS.--This term is applied to the caterpillars of a number of night-flying noctuid moths; these caterpillars are smooth-bodied and rather worm-like, in some cases measuring from one and a-half to two inches in length when full grown. They feed at night, and their method of attack is characteristic in that they nip off young plants close to the ground (Fig. 10, 5), so that the latter fall over, when they are devoured by the caterpillars; this habit has given rise to the name “cut-worms.” During the day the cut-worms are to be found curled up in the ground close to the plants they have been attacking. The moths of these caterpillars are rather stout-bodied, and measure about three-quarters of an inch long. One of the commonest species is the cosmopolitan greasy-cut-worm (_Agrotis ypsilon_). [Illustration: FIG. 10. (1) Cricket. (2) Grasshopper. (3) Caterpillar. (4) Diamond-backed Moth--a, adult moth; b, egg; c, larva; d, pupa. (5) Cut-worm lying by damaged plant. (6) Tomato-worm Caterpillar--a, adult; b, larva. (7) Cabbage White Butterfly--a, adult; b, egg; c, larva; d, pupa. (8) Larva case of Bag-moth.] Though cut-worms are active throughout the growing period of plants, most damage is done to young and tender plants at the time of establishment, and this is particularly noticeable in the spring. When plants are grown isolated in rows, and the area is not too large, complete protection from cut-worms can be secured by enclosing each plant in a tin collar pushed into the ground and projecting a few inches from the surface; these collars are removed when the plant is well established. In localities where cut-worms are very troublesome it is advisable to reduce their numbers by means of a poison bait made as follows:--50lb. of bran and 1lb. of Paris green are thoroughly mixed in a dry state; when this is done, and just before being used, the bran is moistened with water, sweetened with molasses, until the bait reaches a crumbly, but not saturated, condition. This bait may be broadcast over the infected area or laid around each plant as a barrier. This bait must be applied every few days until the plants have reached a stage when they are able to withstand cut-worm attack. A great deal can be done to check cut-worms by removing dense growths of weeds and rough herbage growing in unused parts of the garden; in such places the insects breed, and are a source of infestation. Another point to consider is that thorough cultivation will destroy many pupæ that are lying underground, and which would otherwise give rise to another generation of moths. “ARMY-WORMS.”--These caterpillars are similar in their appearance and general habits to the cut-worms, but differ in their method of attack. When present in numbers, they move through a crop--especially cereals--eating as they go, and leaving nothing but devastation in their wake, much as does an invading army on the march. They are not of so much interest to the horticulturist as to the farmer.