35 
METHODS OF CONTROL. 
From what has been said of the utility of domestic fowls and other 
animals it is obvious that with proper judgment their services would 
save great losses that it might otherwise be difficult to avert. 
Poisoned 'baits are the standard remedies against cutworms, and to 
be most effective they should be applied as soon as attack is noticed. 
They are particularly valuable in cases where the direct application of 
insecticides to a plant is impossible owing to the danger of poisoning 
persons or stock when it is used for food. There are two lands of 
bait — fresh vegetable and bran mash. 
Yegetable halt may be prepared as follows: Spraj^ a patch of clover, 
pigweed, or some useless succulent plant that grows by the roadside 
or in fence corners, with Paris green, 1 pound to 150 gallons of water; 
mow it close to the ground, and place it while fresh in small heaps 
about the infested plants at intervals of a few feet. The later in the 
day this can be done the better, as the material keeps fresh longer and 
the cutworms feed almost exclusively at night. Owing to the wilting 
of this bait, particularly in dry, sunny weather, it is advisable to 
cover each heap with a chip, shingle, or bit of bark for its protection 
against the sun's rays. 
Bran mash or bran -arsenic mash is of equal value to a fresh vege- 
table bait, and, according to some, still more efficacious. Paris green, 
arsenoid, white arsenic, or in fact an}^ arsenical can be used for poi- 
soning this bait, and in its preparation, on account of the weight of 
the poison and the fact that it soon sinks to the bottom of the water 
when stirred, it is best first to mix the bran with water and sugar and 
then add the poison. The proportions are 2 or 3 ounces of sugar or a 
similar quantity of glucose or molasses to a gallon of water and a 
sufficient amount of bran (about a pound per gallon) to make, when 
stirred, a mixture that will readily run through the fingers. 
Before planting a crop it is advisable to employ such bait, and its 
perfect success is assured by having the ground bare, which practi- 
cally compels the cutworms to feed upon it. 
Bordeaux onixtiire. — This fungicide has been recently tested against 
the variegated cutworm upon potato vines and asparagus. It was 
sprayed on as a remedy for blight, and it was discovered that the 
plants thus treated were free from attack. The use of this fungicide 
as a cutworm deterrent is certainly advisable. In any case, it should 
be used as a diluent for whatever arsenical is used. 
Hand met Jiods. — On some plants it is next to impossible to apply 
any but hand methods with good results. Experiments in Washing- 
ton State during the season of 1900 demonstrated conclusively that in 
some cases it required less time to shake or brush cutworms from 
affected plants than to destroy them by spraying or otherwise. 
