43§ MAIZE 



CHAP. Arsenite of soda . . . . . . . i lb. 



X. Treacle or brown sugar ...... 8 lbs. 



Water 10 gals. 



Dissolve the arsenite of soda and the treacle or sugar 

 in the water. 



Mr. Mally describes his method as follows : — 



By cutting up any available green-stuff (lucerne, barley, 

 oat-forage, cabbage, rape, young succulent weeds, etc.) into 

 small bits, say half an inch in length, it can be moistened with 

 the poisoned sweet and then scattered broadcast over the fields. 

 If distributed evenly, and at frequent intervals, the cutworms 

 are practically certain to find it before they find the growing 

 crop. Their fondness for sweets induces the caterpillars to fully 

 engorge themselves on the bait, a fact which makes their de- 

 struction certain. There is also no danger to stock, for the 

 pieces of bait are so small that nothing but poultry can pick 

 them up, and it is not likely that even they will get enough 

 to injure them. But, as a precaution, poultry should be kept 

 from the lands where the bait has been spread. Care should 

 be taken not to make the bait too wet or it will not scatter 

 well when broadcast. For the best results the bait should be 

 distributed a few days after the ground has been ploughed, and all 

 green succulent vegetation has been destroyed. The cutworms 

 that are not crushed in ploughing will then be on the surface 

 again, and on account of their long fast, practically all of them 

 will be prowling around in search of food. In this way one 

 application will probably be sufficient. If injury is noticed 

 after the young maize plants appear, the application should 

 be repeated. 



Where infestation of a crop takes place from outside 

 stretches of unploughed veld, Mr. C. French, Jr., Assistant 

 Government Entomologist, Victoria, recommends (French, i) 

 running a flock of sheep in the infested paddock adjoining the 

 crop, as the constant walking about of the sheep will destroy 

 the cutworms. 



Autumn and winter ploughing has some reducing effect by 

 disturbing and exposing the hibernating larva; to the weather 

 and the attacks of insectivorous birds, and by destroying the 

 food-plants on which they might feed in spring. 



404. The Maize Stalk-borer. — The maize stalk-borer is 

 variously known as the mielie stalk-borer, mielie grub, top- 

 worm, or top-grub, and tassel-worm, and is often also called 



