438 THE MONTHLY BUIiLETIN. 



COST OF PRODUCTION OF ORANGES IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY. 



By F. C. Brosius. 



Yield of sixty tons of oranges, 1,764 boxes, 498 trees, fourteen years 

 old : 



CULTURAL COSTS. 

 One team, cost of feed 130 daj's, cultivation and hauling, @ $1.00 



per day $130 00 



15 pounds fertilizer per tree @ 2 cents per pound 149 40 



Irrigation water @ $3.00 per acre 15 00 



One man, cultivating, pruning, irrigating, etc 240 00 



Picking @ $2.00 per ton 120 00 



Total cost of production $654 40 



Receipts, $1.00 per box net, delivered at packing house $1,764 00 



Deduct cost of production 654 40 



Balance $1,109 60 



ENTOMOLOGICAL. 



A GOOD ANT EXTERMINATOR. 



By D. Li. Crawford, Claremont, California. 



The Argentine ant is a troublesome household pest. The little red 

 fellows come into the pantry by thousands and carry away anything 

 sweet that is portable or eatable : syrup, honey, cake, raisins, and a 

 great many other good things. Many patent exterminators are on the 

 market, but most of them do not exterminate the ants — they merelj^ 

 drive them away for a while. Powders to scatter in the corners and 

 cracks where the ants travel, and poison pastes for them to eat and 

 carry into their nests are good, usually, to drive the ants away tem- 

 porarily, but sooner or later they come back or else move to another 

 house — and other colonies from other houses move in, in their place. 



Ants nearly always select a diy and elevated place in which to nest. 

 Small mounds and elevations are favorite places for most ants. The 

 Argentine ant, however, is not so particular. In very many cases they 

 choose such sites for nesting, but may very often be found in such 

 locations as the following : In boxes or tin cans, in freight shipments, in 

 decaying matter (for the warmth), under shingles of a roof, and in 

 many other locations of a peculiar nature. They shun light and seek 

 warmth. 



It is moderately easy to trail ants from the pantry to their nest, for 

 they always travel on tiny roads and are rather easily followed. They 

 may enter the house through cracks between boards, but when their 

 trail outside on the ground is once found, it is little trouble to locate 

 the nest. 



The most effective and cheapest means of exterminating the colony, 

 Avhen it is in the ground or in a box of refuse, etc., is by pouring into the 

 nest a quantity of dilute creoline sheep-dip. Dilute the liquid about one 

 part to twenty parts of water and shake or stir thoroughly. It should 

 make a milky or soapy liquid. 



Before beginning the operation have ready at hand a heavy hoe, a 

 sharp pointed crow-bar and a large bucket in which to dilute the creoline 

 liquid. Begin the operation by sprinkling some of the fluid around and 

 in the hole. This will kill the few ants that maj^ be outside. Next, 



