280 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



destruction of cutworms, because of the fact that the various weeds and 

 grasses are growing in the field intermediate between the time the corn 

 is unfit for their food until the sowing of wheat; and as this comes up 

 soon, the insects are not deprived for any great length of time from find- 

 ing sufficient food to sustain them in that particular locality, and hence 

 they attack alternately the wheat and the corn plant, as these two are 

 usually rotated. However, these alternate rotations of wheat and corn 

 in the same field from year to year are much better from the cutworm 

 standpoint than allowing the wheat or corn field to grow up to grass, 

 clover or weeds for a year or two and then to plow it up in the hopes of 

 raising wheat or corn free from the attacks of cutworms. 



Perhaps the best direct way of fighting cutworms is the following, 

 which I have advised for a number of years, and which has almost in- 

 variably given good results : The corn or wheat field may have certain 

 areas, well known to the owner, in which the cutworms are more abund- 

 ant and destructive. In such cases it will not be necessary to apply 

 this method throughout the entire field. In other instances the field may 

 be so situated as to suffer more or less along the sides bordering a 

 meadow, especially a newly plowed meadow, infested with these worms, 

 which would then tend to leave the newly plowed meadow and migrate 

 to the wheat or the corn. In such cases, it would be especially advisable 

 to apply the following method along that portion of the field whtcii vv'e 

 wish to protect: 



The method I have reference to is what is known as the poisoned 

 bran method. A bushel of bran and one pound of pure Paris green, or 

 a half pound of pure powdered arsenic, are to be stirred up thoroughly 

 together while dry, and then some sweetened water is to be added in 

 sufficient quantities to make a thick dough. If one needs to use a large 

 quantity, and can get glucose, it will be found to be much cheaper than 

 molasses or sugar for the purpose of sweetening this water. It is well to 

 use a fairly good quantity of this sweetening substance, because it will 

 tend to hold the particles of bran together, so that in drying it will not 

 fall apart and become lost, as it will if the sweetening substance is not 

 used. This poisoned bran is then to be scattered along in rows, through 

 and around the field to be protected, or in which the cutworms are to be 

 killed. In the case of corn, this poisoned bran should be placed there 

 before the corn comes up, and in the case of spring wheat, it should be 

 placed there just as soon as warm weather appears, so as to kill the cut- 

 worms before they have had time to injure the wheat. Cutworms will 

 feed readily upon this poisoned bran and be killed, and in some instances 

 they seem to prefer this bran to the plants. Of course, it is necessary 



