¢ 
20 BULLETIN 377, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The jars with the new type of sirup were visited constantly for 
62 days, or to the conclusion of the experiment. The small amount 
of sirup left was still clean and as sweet as at first. 
Tests of the poisonous qualities of both liquids were made with 
colonies in Janet cages, under control as to food. There was prac- 
. tically no difference in toxicity. Workers in 
both cages began to die in 4 days, the queens 
stopped ovipositing in 14 days, and winged 
males died very quickly, the queens in 17 days, 
and the whole colony in each case was extermi- 
nated on the thirty-second day. 
PRACTICAL TESTS OF THE IMPROVED SIRUP. 
The new sirup, made exactly as in the for- 
mula given above, is very palatable to the ants 
at any season of the year. It was found that 
containers charged with it placed at selected 
points outside a residence would attract the 
ants and they would cease to invade the house. 
A private residence in a large plot of ground 
on a street corner with a row of large oak trees 
along each street was heavily infested with 
ta ants, which were to be found in the sink, the 
Fic. 3.—Comparison of the Tetrigerator, all over the floors, etc. On June 
improved sirup (left) 18, 6 cans each containing this sirup and 
ee ee sponge were hung on the brick pillars which 
evaporation. The im- supported.the house. The following morning 
proved sirup is sti there was scarcely an ant to be seen in the 
clear and sweet, while ‘ : 
the Nickels sirup is house and the ants were attending the sirup 
dark and full of erys- .- Ene ¢ 
tals and decayed mat. INlargenumbers. The same-conditions existed 
ter. (Originak) throughout the length of the experiment, which 
was terminated on August 10. Many such small experiments have 
been conducted, the results being equally successful. 
APPLICATION OF THE SIRUP. 
The paraflin-covered paper bag? shown in figure 4 is undoubtedly the 
cheapest container. It can be made in large quantities at a cost of about 
$5 per thousand. Small 1-pound bags used in grocery stores are ob- 
tained, and two or three holes about one-fourth inch in diameter are cut 
through each folded bag with a leather-punch or similar instrument. 
This provides each bag with two holes on each side for the entrance 
of the ants. Being opened, the bags are dipped in a pan of molten 
1 The writer is indebted to Mr. R. W. Moreland, Bureau of Entomology, for his sugges- 
tions in the preparation of this ae container. 
f 
: 
7 
: 
‘ 
