How TO Combat Rabbits, etc. 337 



farmers in the badly infested areas of Cochise County saved their crops 

 from destruction by grasshoppers in 1916. 



The following methods of poisoning are recommended by the U. S. 



Department of Agriculture. 



Grasshopper baits: "Ninety-five per cent of grasshoppers attacking 

 crops in widely different parts of the country were killed quickly and 

 cheaply by an improved poison bran bait and the Criddle mixture. 

 The important change in the formula is to double the amount of lemons or 

 oranges used in the bait, and to add thes? fruits to the Criddle mixture. 

 The change in the mixture is recommended by the forage crop entomolo- 

 gists of tht department as a result of thorough tests conducted in New 

 England, Florida, California, and Arizona. These tests were conducted in 

 different sections and with many different varieties of grasshoppers to 

 determine, if possible, why the old formulas were only partially effective 

 with adult grasshoppers and even less effective with young grasshoppers, 

 and to find whether the fault lay with the different mixtures or with the 

 way they were used. The entomologists found that adding the fruit to 

 the Criddle mixture and increasing the amount in the bran bait increased 

 the attraction of the bait to the grasshoppers and led them to eat it more 

 readily. 



Neiv formulas for bran bait and Criddle mixture: The Criddle 

 mixture as modified for use in killing young grasshoppers is prepared as 

 follows: 



50 pounds fresh horse droppings. 1 pound salt. 



1 pound Paris green. 3 oranges, finely ground. 



Ordinarily no fruit at all is used in the Criddle mixture, and but three 

 oranges to each 25 pounds of bran bait. 



"The poison bran bait, as modified with the especial object of killing 

 young as well as old grasshoppers, is prepared as follows : 



25 pounds wheat bran. 2 quarts cheap molasses or blackstrap. 



1 pound Paris green. 6 oranges or ^^nnons. 



"Thoroughly mix together the bran and Paris green in an ordinary 

 washtub or other vessel. Into a separate receptacle, containing the mo- 

 lasses or sirup, squeeze the juices of the fruit. Chop up finely the skin 

 and pulp of the fruit and add to the molasses. Dilute with 3 gallons of 

 water and mix with the bran. Add enough more water to bring the whole 



to a stiff dough. 



"The bait should be sown broadcast early in the morning, before 

 sunrise, in strips 1 rod apart, over the area to be treated, so that the 

 grasshoppers may be attracted to it before it dries out. The most satis- 



