35 



METHODS OF CONTROL. 



From what has been said of the utility of domestic fowls and other 

 animals it is obvious that with proper judgment their services would 

 save great losses that it might otherwise be diihcult to avert. 



Poisoned halts are the standard remedies against cutworms, and to 

 be most effective they should be applied as soon as attack is noticed. 

 They are particularly valuable in cases where the direct application of 

 insecticides 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 hait may be prepared as follows: Spra}- a patch of clover, 

 pigweed, or some useless succident 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 this can be done the better, as the material keeps fresh longer and 

 the cutworms feed almost exclusivel}'' 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 or bran-arsenic mash is of equal value to a fresh vege- 

 table bait, and, according to some, still more efficacious. Paris green, 

 arsenoid, white arsenic, or in fact an}'' arsenical can be used for poi- 

 soning 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 emplo}' such bait, and its 

 perfect success is assured by having the ground bare, which practi- 

 cally compels the cutworms to feed upon it. 



Bordeaux mixture. — This fungicide has been recently tested against 

 the variegated cutworm upon potato vines and asparagus. It was 

 sprayed on as a remedy for blight, and it was discovered that the 

 plants thus treated were free from attack. The use of this fungicide 

 as a cutworm deterrent is certainly advisable. In any case, it should 

 be used as a diluent for whatever arsenical is used. 



Hand methods. — On some plants it is next to impossible to apply 

 any but hand methods with good results. Experiments in Washing- 

 ton State during the season of 1900 demonstrated conclusively that in 

 same cases it required less time to shake or brush cutworms from 

 affected plants than to destroy them by spraying or otherwise. 



