368 INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETATION 



or apply a line of baits just ahead of the advancing army of grass- 

 hoppers, placing a tablespoonful of the mash every 6 or 8 feet and 

 following up with another line behind the first. 



A cheap grasshopper bait used successfully in parts of the West 

 is obtained by mixing fresh horse droppings with arsenicals. One 

 pound of Paris green, or some other convenient arsenical, together 

 with 2 pounds of salt, are thoroughly mixed with 60 pounds of fresh 

 horse droppings. The resulting mixture is scattered among the 

 young hoppers or around the edges of fields which it is thought may 

 be invaded. A very convenient receptacle in which to make this 

 preparation .is a half barrel. A trowel or paddle can be used in scat- 

 tering the mixture in the desired places. 



Bran and Paris green, on the authority of Prof. J. B. Smith, 

 thoroughly mixed and sprinkled dry on cabbage heads, proved a 

 most successful remedy for cabbage worms, the latter preferring the 

 poisoned bran to the cabbage, to their prompt undoing. The same 

 dry mixture has been successfully employed against cutworms and is 

 recommended by Smith for the army worm, running it in rows 10 

 feet apart across the infested field. One pound of poison to 10 of 

 bran is a good proportion. The bran-arsenic bait may also be used 

 for cutworms. 



For sowbugs, or pillbugs, which frequently are injurious peste 

 to tender flowering plants and vegetables grown under frames or in 

 glass houses, poisoned slices of potato have proved to be the most 

 effectual remedy. The freshly sliced potato may be poisoned by dip- 

 ping in a strong arsenical solution, or by dusting thickly with a dry 

 arsenical, and should then be distributed over the beds. Pansy beds 

 have been notably protected in this way, and a Michigan vegetable 

 grower reports that in two nights he destroyed upward of 24,000 of 

 these bugs by this means in four houses used for lettuce growing. 



Another remedy for cutworms and also for wireworms is poi- 

 soned green succulent vegetation, such as freshly cut clover, distrib- 

 uted in small bunches in the infested fields. Dip the bait in a very 

 strong arsenical solution, and protect it from drying by covering. 

 Renew the bait as often as it becomes dry, or every three to five days. 



Care in the Use of Arsenicals. It must be remembered that 

 these arsenicals are very poisonous and should be so labeled. If or- 

 dinary precautions are taken, there is no danger to man or team 

 attending their application. The wetting of either, which can not 

 always be avoided, is not at all dangerous, on account of the great 

 dilution of the mixture, and no ill effects whatever have resulted from 

 this source. With some individuals the arsenate of lead, when in 

 strong mixture, affects the eyes, but this is unusual, and, with a little 

 care in spraying, the mist need not strike the operator at all. 



The poison disappears from the plants almost completely within 

 twenty to twenty-five days, and even if the plants were consumed 

 shortly after the application, an impossible quantity would have to 

 be eaten to get a poisonous dose. To illustrate, in the case of the 

 apple, if the entire fruit were eaten, core and all, it would take sev- 

 eral barrels at a single sitting to make a poisonous dose, and with 



