63 
METHODS OF CONTROL. 
From what has been said in previous paragraphs the utility of domes- 
tic fowls and other animals is obvious. With proper judgment their 
services would save great losses that it might otherwise be difficult to 
avert. 
Poisoned bait, a standard remedy against cutworms, is of value 
against this species under ordinary circumstances. To be effective it 
should be applied as soon as attack is noticed. It can be prepared in 
the ordinary manner by mixing. It is particularly valuable in cases 
where the direct application of poisons to a plant is impossible owing 
to the danger of poisoning persons or stock when it is used for food. 
There are two kinds of bait—fresh vegetable and bran mash. 
Vegetable bait.—A good way of preparing a vegetable bait is to 
spray a patch of clover, pigweed, or some useless succulent plant that 
grows by the roadside or in fence corners, with Paris green, 1 pound 
to 150 gallons of water; mow it close to the ground, and place it while 
fresh in small heaps about the infested plants at intervals of a few 
feet. The later in the day that this can be done the better, as the 
material keeps fresh longer and the cutworms feed almost exclusively 
at night. Owing to the wilting of this bait, particularly in dry, sunny 
weather, it is advisable to cover each heap with a chip, shingle, or bit 
of bark for its protection against the sun’s rays. 
Bran mash.—What is known as bran mash or bran-arsenic mash is 
of equal value to a fresh vegetable bait, and, according to some, still 
more efficacious. Paris green, arsenoid, white arsenic, or in fact any 
arsenical can be used for poisoning this bait, and in its preparation, 
on account of the weight of the poison and the fact that it soon sinks 
to the bottom of the water 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 a sufficient amount of bran (about a 
pound per gallon) to make, when stirred, a mixture that will readily 
run through the fingers. 
Before planting a crop it is advisable to employ such bait, and for 
its perfect success the ground should be bare, which will have the 
effect of practically compelling the cutworms to feed upon it. 
Protection of plants that are set out, such as tomato, cabbage, and 
others, started under glass, may be secured by placing about the base 
of each a tablespoonful of the poisoned bran or a small bunch of the 
poisoned vegetable. Sometimes it is feasible also to dip the plants in 
poison before setting out. Where it is possible, however, to spray 
erass 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 the cut- 
worms and is less troublesome than the preparation and distribution 
of baits. 
