No. 7. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 355 



The chief and most important remedy is threshing as soon as pos- 

 sible after harvesting. If the grain be infested at the time of 

 threshing, it should be put into tight bins and fumigated with car- 

 'bon-bisulphide, using one pound to each one hundred bushels of 

 (grain. The fumes of this material are heavy, and w^ill sink down 

 into the bin. It will not injure the grain for any purpose, even if 

 iit be poured directly over the grain in tight bins or boxes and at 

 once covered with wet blankets to keep down the fumes. Let it 

 fumigate at least half a day, and it will not hurt to let it remain 

 until all trace of the fumee disappear, even though it be a week. 

 Keep fire away from the fumes, as it is explosive like gasoline or 

 benzine. 



It is important that all wheat be cleaned up, and the mows and 

 bins be cleaned and swept. It attacks wheat mostly, but it is also 

 reported as being injurious to all cereals, buckwheat and chick- 

 peas. It is one of the easiest pests to control by preventive meas- 

 ures, but has certainly destroyed many thousands of dollars worth 

 of property in this State during the past year. 



5. Curculios. Curculios injure peach, plum and cherry by sting- 

 ing the fruit and laying their eggs therein, and thus causing the 

 "wormy" condition and premature dropping. Only a few persons 

 have sprayed for their prevention, and they mostly used the Arsen- 

 ate of Lead, one or one and a half pounds in fifty gallons of water, 

 or in half strength Bordeaux Mixture, being successful in checking 

 the ravages of this pest, which has proven so destructive by causing 

 the premature dropping of the fruits which they infest. 



6. The Canker Worm. The area of infestation by the Canker 

 Worm in the central and northern portions of the State is decreas- 

 ing, from the effects of small parasites, which destroy them. This 

 is in accordance with our previous predictions, and we can now 

 say we believe it will be held in check by these parasites, yet where 

 it was present last summer, preventive measures should be under- 

 taken soon. The important point in preventing destruction by this 

 pest is to put unsurmountable barriers around the trees before the 

 females crawl up the trunk to lay their eggs on the twigs. As this 

 is done very early in the spring, even in some cases before the snow 

 is 'all gone, it is important that the trees be banded very early in 

 the spring, from the middle of February to the 1st of March, jand 

 the bands kept in proper condition to prove an efficient obstruction 

 for at least a month. The method of doing this has been described 

 in the Bulletins of the Economic Zoologist of the Department of 

 Agriculture. 



7. Potato Beetles. Many persons have thought that the Color- 

 ado Potato Beetle had practically ceased to exist, and to infest the 

 potato fields, but last year this pest was very abundant in many 

 parts of the State. Those who sprayed with Paris Green, 4 ounces 

 to 50 gallons of water, or Arsenate of Lend, 3 lbs. in 50 gallons, were 

 successful in destroying it; and where double strength Bordeaux 

 Mixture was used, destruction by this pest was likewise prevented. 

 It is evident that this beetle will appear again during the coming 

 summer, and potato growers should order their arsenical materials 

 soon in order to be ready for them at their first appearance. 



8. Cabbage Root Worms. This pest has proven unusually de- 

 structive during the past year, and has increased rather than de- 

 creased in numbers and injury to cabbage, cauliflower and other 



