ii8 B.C. Entomological Sociei;v. 



In the dry climate existing throughout the Dry Belt of British Columbia 

 the Criddle mixture would probably dry up too quickly to prove of much 

 use, as the locusts will not eat it unless it is fairly fresh and moist. The 

 Kansas formula, however, is eaten by them very readily when damp, and 

 they will also continue to eat it dry, but not so readily. The substitution 

 of sawdust in the place of bran has been tried and seems to have proved 

 very successful. It is, however, harder to mix properly, as the sawdust 

 does not absorb water so readily as bran, and in adding water the Paris 

 green is apt to be washed off the sawdust. Some idea may be had of the 

 effect of the poisoned formulas from the fact that in experiments conducted 

 in Ontario and Quebec from 210 to 1,200 dead locusts were counted to the 

 square yard. The count was made four days after the bait was spread, 

 giving an average of 514.2 dead locusts to the square yard. 



Preparation. — In mixing the bran-mash the bran and Paris green should 

 be mixed together dry. This is best done by adding the Paris green slowly 

 as the bran is stirred around in a tub or box. In the States, where they have 

 had large areas to treat, the mixing has been done on large cement floors of 

 barns, using shovels to mix the bran and Paris green; or, if done in the 

 open, a good way is to put tarpaulin wagon-covers or canvas sheets on the 

 ground, spread the bran on these in a thin layers, and, after scattering the 

 Paris green over the bran as evenly as possible, roll the ingredients together 

 by lifting the sides of the wagon-cover alternately until they are thoroughly 

 mixed. A tight wagon-box is a good place to mix a few hundred pounds of 

 bait. The molasses and lemon-juice should be added to the water and 

 thoroughly mixed, the rinds of the lemons being chopped up fine and added to 

 the mixture. The lemons may be best cut up by passing them through a 

 mincing-machine. When the liquid materials are well mixed, sprinkle them 

 over the bran as evenly as possible, a watering can being found most useful 

 for large quantities. Care should be taken that the mixture is not made 

 into a sloppy mass, but that each flake of the bran is moistened by the 

 liquid. If the bait is made too wet it will stick together in lumps when 

 spread on the fields. 



Distribution. — This should be guarded against, as it is not nearly so 

 efficient as a bait unless evenly distributed in flakes. When distributed in 

 flakes it would be found and eaten by a far larger percentage of the 

 locusts than it would if it were scattered in lumps here and there. Further, 

 the risk of poultry or stock eating it and getting poisoned is obviated. The 

 best time to poison locusts is when they are still immature and have not 

 yet got their wings, the bait being spread broadcast over the areas most 

 frequented by them. This should be done either overnight or early in the 

 morning, so that it will be moist and most readily attract the locusts when 

 they commence to feed in the morning. Where small quantities are to 

 be used it may be broadcasted by hand, but where larger tracts are to be 

 treated it can be most conveniently carried in barrels in a wagon and 

 spread as widely as possible with a trowel or a shingle. In parts of the 

 United States (Montana, Utah) where it was necessary to treat a large 



