460 Jnunial of A<:^riciiltiirc. Victoria. [10 July, 191 i. 



Lead Arsenate Spray. — The most suitable stivngth seems to be 3 lbs. 

 of any good brand of arsenate to 50 gallons of water. This strength does 

 not in any way injure the foliage or tender shoots, whilst it is sufficiently 

 strong to destroy the caterpillars, especially when thev are young. In fact, 

 in order to obtain the best results from such sprays, they must be used 

 when the larvae first hatch out from the eggs. It is easy to understand 

 that, under these conditions, a very much smaller dose will proye fatal 

 than later on, when the insects have attained a certain size. It must be 

 remembered that they grow^ exceedingly rapidly, feeding the while on the 

 ^infortunate young vine. A careful watch must be kept, and on the very 

 first appearance of the trouble, evidenced by characteristic sm.all holes eaten 

 out of the tender leaves, the whole of the young vines must be immediately 

 sprayed. 



At the AN'ahgunyah Xurserv, last season, spraying completely prevented 

 any damage, but it was applied from the very first appearance, when none 

 of the cut worms were longer than \ inch. Three separate invasions had 

 to be fought in this way, resulting from eggs laid by three different genera- 

 tions of moths. The first spraying was given about the .second v/eek iii 

 October, the second about a fortnight later, whilst a quite distinct generation 

 of minute cut worms necessitated the conmiencement of a third spraying on 

 22nd Xovember. 



In spite of the very sandy nature of the soil, and the fact that the 

 nursery was surrounded by paddocks where the grass was high, conditions 

 favourable to the pest, these three sprayings absolutely protected the young 

 ^•ines from damage. 



Baits. — In order that spraying may be successful, there must be some 

 green foliage to sprav ; in other words, the young vines must have sent out 

 shoots and small leave.i before the cut worms make their appearance, as 

 was the case in the example quoted above. 



If, as not imfrequently happens, the cut worms are in the field first, 

 that is, before the vines come into leaf, spraying is useless. This is what 

 frequently happens when the land has, during the winter, been covered 

 with weeds, which have been suppressed by repeated cultivation, just 

 before the vines were planted (or grafted in the case of field grafting). In 

 such circumstances, considerable numbers of quite large cut worms may 

 be about before t.he buds of the voung vinos burst. 



The deadly effect of these, on the young plantation, can easily be 

 imagined. The young buds may l)e eaten right out, before they break 

 through the protecting mound of soft soil ; other shoots growing from latent 

 buds meet with a similar fate, and the young vine is often killed outright, 

 or, at any rate, so consideral)ly damaged and its start into growth so 

 much retarded as to permanentK injure it. As many as 16 or 20 fair- 

 sized larvae have been found in the soil at the base of a single vine. 

 Field grafts, in spite of the rapid growth they make, are often seriously 

 damaged, if not completely destroyed, in this way. 



Against such visitations the only practical means of defence is the use 

 of baits. A formula w^hich has given good results is the following : — Bran 

 10 lbs., molasses 4 lbs.. Paris green 4 ozs. The whole to be made into a 

 paste or dough and placed, in small pieces about the size of a nut, in 

 close proximity to the young vine. These are greedily eaten by the cut 

 worms, which are thus destroyed in large numbers. 



The baits are no longer acceptable once they are dry. As the weather 

 is hot in October and November, they dry up very rapidly, and cease to 

 be of use after the first night. Baits should, therefore, only be put 



