REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST 225 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



or dying cutworms could be found by moving the soil lightly beneath every plant. By 

 actual count, as many as nineteen were found under a single plant, and nearly as many 

 under several others. This is only one instance of the very remarkable effectiveness 

 01 tiis remedy. 



Remedy. — The poisoned bran mash is made by mixing half a pound of Paris green 

 with fifty pounds of slightly moistened bran. In making this, it is best first to dampen 

 some of the bran slightly with water containing a little sugar. After mixing 

 thoroughly, add the Paris green by dusting it on the surface and stirring all the time. 

 We have found that when Paris green is added to perfectly dry bran, owing to its 

 weight, it will sinli at once to the bottom wheu stirred, in the same way that it does 

 in water. Half a pound of Paris green is enough to poison fifty pounds of bran<, 

 although double this amount may be used. If the mixture is too wet, more dry bran 

 ghould be stirred in until the mixture will crumble easily and run through the fingers 

 without adhering. 



When required for garden use, all that is necessary is to sprinkle a little of the 

 poisoned mixture by hand around such plants as are liable to attack. When crops 

 axe planted in drills or in rows, a convenient way is to make the mixture almost dry and 

 then distribute it by means of a Planet Junior or other wheel seeder. In field prac- 

 tice, among such close growing) crops as standing grain, which are sometimes in- 

 jured by the Red-backed Cutworm, the poisoned bran remedy is also serviceable. The 

 mixture can be distributed by means of a paddle or shingle and can be thrown easily 

 tfi a distance of twenty feet. When distributed in this way, there is much less danger 

 of cliickens and birds picking it up than if it is placed in lumps. 



The question of danger from the use of this poisoned bait is one which must b>i 

 considered. It is frequently inquired about by correspondents, and some instances of 

 the poisoning of poultry where it has been used, seemed to be justly attributable to theii" 

 having eaten some of it. As a rule, there is little danger from this cause. The quantity 

 used is so small that it i^ not noticed by poultry; and then, in gardens, poultry do 

 so much harm to plants that they should never be admitted, at the time of year when 

 cutworms occur injuriously and only at special times of the year when there are no 

 crojw to injure. If, however, there should be a bad infestation by cutworms and there 

 is no means of barring out or driving away the chickens, the owner of the crops must 

 decide whether he will lose his crop or take special means of protecting his chickens. 

 The experience of a great many people who have used this remedy without taking any 

 special precautions, is that injury to domestic animals is extremely rare ; and, although 

 I have been on the watch for any trouble of this sort for many years, I do not know 

 of a single insrtance when poultry have been poisoned, without doubt by eating poisoned 

 bran put out for cutworms. However, there will be many occasions when plants in 

 gardens may be protected by putting out the poisoned bran in small heaps and then 

 covering these up with a piece of shingle or some other covering, so that the material 

 cannot be got at by stray chickens and other poultry. 



It has also been asked whether there is any danger of plants absorbing Paris green 

 from this mixture when placed neai- their roots. In reply to this, it is only necessary 

 to point out that Paris green is practically insoluble and therefore cannot be absorbed 

 by the plant. 



Root Maggots. — These insects, which every year are a serious tax on market gar- 

 deners, were in 1904 particularly aggressive, and from every province frequent demands 

 were made for a practical remedy. Radishes, cauliflowers, cabbages, turnips, onions, 

 and, in a few instances, beans and sweet corn were injured. Only a few years ago 

 there were many districts in the West where root maggots' were unknown ; but of late 

 years these have been invaded. Bad infestations are reported by Mr. N. H. Holland, 

 from Norquay, Man., who speaks of his success in growing onions in former years, but 

 now finds that he has this year lost a third of his crop and says that the maggots are get- 



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