508 



JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



[Vol. 14 



of dirt or leaf mold and attached to the branches of the forks for support* 

 So frail are they that a slight sudden jar will cast them into ruin, but if 

 destroyed the ants at once begin to construct new ones, apparently 

 having already learned of their usefulness. Entrance to the enclosures 

 is gained by one or several openings in the outside walls and through 

 these the ants pass to and fro very freety. 



This being the first time that I have seen anything just like this being 

 constructed by the Argentine ant for the specific purpose of enclosing 

 mealy bugs, it seemed worth recording the fact. 



A HOME MADE MECHANICAL POISON BATE MIXER' 



By B. G. Thompson, Scientific Assistant} Bureau of Entomology, Cereal & Forage 



Insect Investigations 



During the grasshopper eradication campaign of the season of 1919 

 in Harney County, Oregon, which was carried on by the Entom.ological 

 Extension Service, several mechanical devices were tried out for the 

 mixing of poison bait. The apparatus hereinafter described, proved 

 very successful both as a labor-saving device and as a m.eans of securing 

 an efficient and uniform mixture of poison bait. 



The machine (See Fig. 14.) was constructed on the principle of a chum. 

 It consisted of a wooden box 40" x 40" x 48", mounted on a 1)4'' 

 shaft, with a wooden pulley 42" in diameter, fastened firmly to the end 



Fig. 14. Poison bait mixer. 



of the box. The box was constructed of IK" tongue and grooved 

 Ivunber. One half of one side was used as a door, thus giving ample 



'By permission of the vSecretar\' of Agriculture. 



