ENTOMOLOGY 367 



The Dry Method. The following description applies to the 

 pole-and-bag duster commonly used against the cotton worm: A 

 pole 5 to 8 feet long and about 2 inches in diameter is taken, and a 

 three-fourths-inch hole bored through it within 6 inches of each end. 

 Near each end is securely tacked a bag of "8-ounce osnaburg cloth," 

 1 foot wide and 18 inches to 2 feet long, so that the powdered poison 

 may be introduced into the bags with a funnel through the holes at 

 the ends of the pole. The bags are filled with undiluted Paris green, 

 which is generally preferred to London purple on account of its 

 quicker action, and the apparatus is carried on horse or mule back, 

 through the cotton fields, dusting two or four rows at once. The 

 shaking induced by the motion of the animal going at a brisk walk 

 or at a trot is sufficient to dust the plants thoroughly, or the pole 

 may be jarred by hand. The application is preferably made in early 

 morning or late evening, when the dew is on, to cause the poison to 

 adhere better to the foliage. 



From 1 to 2 pounds are required to the acre, and from 10 to 20 

 acres are covered in a day. The occurrence of heavy rains may ne- 

 cessitate a second application, but frequently one will suffice. This 

 simple apparatus, on account of its effectiveness and cheapness, is 

 employed throughout the cotton belt to the general exclusion of more, 

 complicated and expensive machinery. The cost frequently does not 

 exceed 25 cents per acre, and the results are so satisfactory that the 

 leaf worm is no longer considered a serious factor in cotton culture. 



With the patented air-blast machines for the dry distribution of 

 poisons, arsenicals are diluted with 10 parts of flour, lime, or ground 

 gypsum, and from 60 to 75 acres may be covered in a day by using 

 relays of men and teams. Greater uniformity is secured with these 

 machines in distribution of the poisons, but their cost (from $30 to 

 $60) prevents their general use. The planter should have a good 

 supply of poison on hand and apparatus for its application prepared 

 in advance, since when the worm puts in an appearance its progress is 

 very rapid, and a delay of a single day may result in material dam- 

 age to the crop. 



If small garden patches are dusted with poison by this or simi- 

 lar means from bags or with hand bellows, it is advisable always to 

 dilute the poison with 10 parts of flour, or preferably lime, and for 

 application to vegetables which ultimately will be used for food, as 

 the cabbage, 1 ounce of the poison should be mixed with 6 pounds of 

 flour or 10 of lime and dusted merely enough to show evenly over 

 the surface. Arsenicals should not be applied to lettuce or other 

 vegetables the free leafage of which is eaten. 



Poisoned Bait. It is not always advisable or effective to apply 

 arsenicals directly to the plants, and this is particularly true in rela- 

 tion to the attacks of the grasshopper and of the various cutworms 

 and wireworms. In such cases the use of poisoned bait has proved 

 very satisfactory. 



For grasshoppers, take 1 part, by weight, or white arsenic, 1 of 

 sugar, or molasses, and 6 of bran, to which add water to make a wet 

 mash. Place a tablespoonful of this at the base of each tree or vine, 



