GENERAL CROP PESTS 55 



a patch of clover, or useless succulent plant with Paris green, 

 I pound to 150 gallons of water; mowing it close to the ground, 

 and placing it while fresh in small heaps about infested plants 

 at intervals of a few feet. Owing to the wilting of this bait, 

 in dry, sunny weather, it is advisable to cover each heap with 

 a chip, shingle, or something similar. 



Bran mash or bran-arsenic mash is, according to some, still 

 more efficacious. Paris green, white arsenic, or other arsenical 

 can be used for poisoning, and in its preparation, on account 

 of the weight of the poison and the fact that it soon sinks when 

 stirred, it is best first to mix the bran with water and sugar 

 and then add the poison. The proportions are 2 or 3 ounces 

 of sugar or a similar quantity of glucose or molasses to a gallon 

 of water and sufficient bran (about a pound per gallon) to make, 

 when stirred, a mixture that will readily run through the fin- 

 gers. Before planting a crop it is advisable to use bait, and 

 for perfect success the ground should be bare, which will have 

 the effect of practically compelling the cutworms to feed on it. 



Protection of plants that are set out, such as tomato and cab- 

 bage, started under glass, may be secured by placing about the 

 base of each a tablespoonful of poisoned bran or a small bunch 

 of the poisoned vegetable. Sometimes it is feasible to dip plants 

 like tomato and sweet potato in poison before setting out. 

 Arsenate of lead is best for this purpose prepared as for spray- 

 ing I pound to 25 — 50 gallons of water. Where it is possible, 

 however, to spray grass or weeds which have grown up in fields 

 about to be cultivated, this should be done, as it is an easy 

 means for riddance of cutworms and less troublesome than the 

 preparation and distribution of baits. Plants may also be pro- 

 tected by paper wrappings and tin collars. 



Bordeaux mixture has been tested against the variegated cut- 

 worm upon potato vines and asparagus. It was sprayed on as 

 a remedy for blight, and it was discovered that plants thus 

 treated were free from attack. The use of this fungicide as a 



