SOME INSECT ENEMIES OF CORN 
11 
can be done on a comparatively small area with the same eventual results. The 
spray is made as follows: 
Smaller amounts 
Sodium arsenite 3 lbs. 1 lb. 4 oz. 
Water 180 gals. 60 gals. 15 gals. 
Molasses 1| gals. 2 qts. 1 pt. 
Any spray pump can be used, altho the field sprayer is best. The spray should 
be applied in the form of a fine mist, early in the morning, before the ’hoppers feed, 
leaving the grass and weeds with a dewlike covering of the solution. If the area 
is small it should be entirely covered with spray. If large, a border from 2 to 4 
rods wide around the exterior may be sprayed, and also several strips through the 
field, checker-board fashion. Grasshoppers are extremely fond of sweet substances, 
and are sure to eat grass or other plants covered with this sweetened poison. 
Effective spraying must be done as soon as the grasshoppers hatch, while they 
are still very small, say a quarter of an inch long, as they soon move away from their 
nursery areas. 
Poison Bait. — Another remedy for grasshoppers, known as the Kansas mix- 
ture, consists of a poisoned bran mash flavored with fruits, preferably oranges or 
lemons. An amount sufficient to cover five acres is made as follows: 
Bran or shorts ; 20 lbs. 
Paris green (or sodium arsenite) 1 lb. 
Syrup 2 qts. 
Oranges or Lemons 3 
Water 3| gals. 
The fruit should be chopped fine and the bait scattered broadcast over the field 
where the grasshoppers are. It is best to do this in the early morning. Two or 
three applications may be necessary. The bait is attractive to the insects while it 
is fresh but is not eaten after it becomes dry and stale. It should not be spread - 
just before a shower, as rain washes out the poison. If it is scattered evenly and 
thinly in small pieces there is probably no danger of poisoning birds or domestic 
animals. To be on the safe side it is advisableAo keep stock and poultry out of 
the field for a few days. 
Grasshoppers do not deposit their eggs in great numbers in well-tilled land. 
With increasing cultivation and the breaking up of reverted or raw lands the danger 
of grasshopper outbreaks is diminished. Fall plowing followed by thoro harrowing 
of land containing the eggs will help considerably. 
THE CORN EAR-WORM 
Damage is sometimes done to corn, more noticeably to sweet corn and popcorn, 
by worms, or caterpillars, working beneath the husks and devouring the young ker- 
nels still in the milky stage. In addition to the direct damage done and as a re- 
sult of it, fungous growths gain a foothold and destroy much more of the ear. 
The worms are about an inch and a half long when full grown. They are 
variable in color, — green, rose color, or dark brown — and are spotted, striped, or 
plain. The most common form is pale green with longitudinal white or gray stripes. 
They come from eggs laid by a moth which is about three quarters of an inch long, 
with a wing expanse of about one and three-fifths inches. The moths vary consider- 
ably in color. Most commonly the front wings are pale clay-color or olive-green 
with darker markings. The hind wings are pale with a blackish band on the mar- 
gin. 
