Great Falls weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1894-1???, 1895-05-31

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@ AND GARDEN
PROTECTION AGAINST CUTWORMS.

Remedial Measures Are Clean Culture,
Fall Flowing, Insecticide Fertilizers, Etc.
The presence of cutworms in a field
becomes noticeable Immediately after a
Prop has been set out, whether sweet
potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes O what
ever else it may be, OF O after the
seed has %sprouted, be it corn, onions or
other vegetables. All oven the field
plants have disappeared or have fallen.
Investigation will show that they have
been cut Or eaten off at the surface OF
even a little below it. In the corntield
they cut off the plants almost as fast as
they come above ground, and white po-
tatoes occasionally suffer as severely.
Normally the insects are grass feeders or
feeders upon low, sl1cculent vegetation
and in grass Or clover lands, therefore,
or in masses of rank vegetation general
ly, the moth lays her eggs. Other things
equal, clover or sod land will be most
likely to be infested by cutworms, while
Land cultivated late is most likely to be
free.
With other remedial measures suggest
cd in a bulletin from the New Jersey
station are clover culture and early fall
blowing. tits important that the plow-
ing is done early. But when land has
been wintercd with an infested sod COW
ering it and is plowed i'll the early
spring the farmer is not quite helpless,
according to the bulletin quoted. If the
land is to be put into crops, prepare as
usual and apply all the potash and nitro
gen in the form of kainit and nitrate of
soda as Il top dressing. Delay seeding
until rain or natural moisture has dis
solved and carried down the fertilizers.
Phosphatcs may be applied at any time,
as these have no insecticide properties.
This practice will, as a rule, protect the
corn crop.
In crops like sweet potatoes a differ
ent method isindicatcd, the poisoned bait
remedy being the best This is simply
providing the cutwornls with poisoned
food after the soil is prepared for plant
ing. The easiest plan is to spray a rank
patch of clover with one of the %arsenites
used at the rate of a pound i'll 100 gal
Ions of water. and as soon as it has
somewhat dried cut it close to the
slNlllu. NtNC SprCttu Ill llllle ItdpS AT
intervals over the field to be protected.
This affords complete protection when
carefully carried out. The clover may
be cut first, made up into loose balls
and dipped III Il poisonous liquid. The
more numerous tho traps the greater the
chance Of destroying the insects, They
will he found i'll the morning an inch or
50 beneath the surface under the bait,
and after FL hours the majority will he
dead. No plants should be set nj until
the poisoned bait has had an opportunity
to act for two nights ut least.
A modification Of this plan, which
has been very successful with sweet 20
tuto plants, consists IN mixing dry wheat
bran with paris green or london purple
sufficient to color it faintly, in weight
about II Of poison to 30 Of the bran.
The miytur" should he a. complete as
possible, and then water added to make
a soft musl that can be ladlcd u with
d spoon without dripping. The w&trr
may be swcptcned to add to the attract
iveness of the mixture. A t~euspoonful
should be placed on each hill Of plants
to be protected on the evening Of the day
the plants arc first set out.