206 EXPERIMENTAL FABMF( 



7-8 EDWARD VII., A. 19C8 



hood. The land wi-s broken during the first two weeks in August, 100 acres. It had 

 never been broken b-efore, my land being a school section. I would, however, say that 

 I find this same insect in sod which has not yet been turned, that is on each side of 

 my ploughed field.' 



From the above it would appear that this attack, notwithstanding its severity, 

 may have merely been accidental. The sod upon the roots of which the larvae had 

 been feeding having been turned under, the insects attacked the roots of the young 

 wheat because it happened to be at hand. 



Cutworms. — There was extensive injuiy to fields of grain and roots in the West 

 during 1906 by several species of cutworms with habits similar to those of the common 

 Eed-backed Cutworm, Paragrotis ochrogaster, Gn. A great many letters were received 

 from all the prairie provinces, and through the kindness of Mr. Arch, Mitchell, of the 

 Provincial Department of Ag.riculture at Edmonton, I was kept regularly in touch 

 with the progress of the infestation. The attack was so severe in many districts in 

 tlie foot-hill country, extending from Northern Alberta right down to the interna- 

 tional boundary, and also in the northern country as far east as the eastern boundary 

 of Manitoba, as to be described by many correspondents as a perfect plague. Whole 

 fields of grain of from 30 to 50 acres were entirely cleared oif, as well as vegetables in 

 gardens. In Southern Alberta, where the cultivation of beets for sugar has been 

 much encouraged, great losses occurred in some localities. Mr. Arch. Mitchell did 

 excellent service by promptly distributing a circular containing suggestions towards 

 coBfibating the attack, and recommended the use of the poisoned bran mash, now so 

 well known as an effective remedy against this class of destructive insects. The for- 

 mula recommended was the standard remedy which has always been adopted by this 

 Division, viz. : Half a pound of Paris green mixed with 50 pounds of bran slightly 

 moistened with water to which a small quantity of sugar or salt has been added. 

 Many farmers doubled the proportion of Paris green on account of the excessive in- 

 juries which they were suffering ; but this practice is not to be advised, on account 

 of the corrosive nature of the Paris green upon vegetation; and, when distributing 

 the poisoned material, it is very difficult to scrtter it through a crop, particularly of 

 beets or other roots, without some of it falling into the heart of the young plants. 

 The quantity recommended, one pound of Paris green in 100 pounds of bran, is ample 

 for all purposes, and, even in the worst attacks. 100 lbs. of bran can be distributed over 

 two or three acres. A very light sprinkling on the surface of the ground is all that is 

 necessary. The cutworms are night-feeding insects, and this material seems to be so at- 

 tractive to them, when they crawl about on the surface of the land looking for food, 

 that they actually eat it in preference to the succulent vegetation. It has sometimes 

 been doubted, by farmers who have not tried the poisoned bran mash for cutworm.s, 

 whether it is a practical remedy for field crops on large areas. The following state- 

 ment by Mr. George Harcourt, Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Alberta, should 

 dispose of such doubts: 'Reports have been received from all parts of the provincr" 

 that the Paris green treatment, where used according to instructions, was entirely 

 successful in exterminating this pest.' (Alberta Crop Report, July 5, 1906.) It must 

 be remembered that this outbreak was a very severe one, extending over a wide area 

 and involving very large fields of grain and other crops. 



Mr. W. H. Holland of Norquay, Man., among many others, writes under date 

 September 25 : 'I have found your poisoned bran remedy a perfect discharger of cut- 



worms.' 



I am indebted to Mr. George Batho. the editor of the Nor-West Farmer of Win- 

 nipeg, for the following extract from his issue of June 5, 1906, relating to the use 

 of the poisoned bran remedy on a large scale : — 



' Wm. Harris, writing in the Raymond Chronicle, has this to say about the 

 poisoning of cutworms in the beet fields of Southern Alberta : — 



" Of late much has been said about the cutworms. They are certainly doing a 

 great damage; in some fields replanting is necessary. Some may iirge the cutworms 



