The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-05-11
Destroying Cut Worms in Young
Tobacco.

Mr.. Willis G. johnson, State Entomo-
loeist has issued the following special
instructions upon this subject, which may
be oI interest to tobacco planters:
Tobacco and other crops such as tomato
and cabbage, following sod or grass are US
ually more or less effected by cut worms
The moth usually deposits its eggs in the
grass lands, and in many instances the
Young cut-worms remain in the ground
over winter If the sod is plowed down
late in the fall or spring, the natural food
| plant the grass is destroyed; and the
| creature will therefore attack and eat
most anything planted on the same area
1t is a we'll known fact that the worm
has particular fondness for sweet sub
stances, and that they eat wheat bran
with relish.
By combining molasses with wheat bran
we have delicate morsal which the
worms will eat in preference to anything
else available. By poisoning this mixture
with Paris green we have good remedy
for cut worms, cheap and easy to apply
The ingredients used for making the
poison mash are as follows:
Wheat bran. Observation-Disclosures 80 pounds
Molasses (any kind ..............2 quarts
Paris green good quality. ......l pound
Water enough to make a thick mash.
Place the cry bran in an old tub or bar
rel and stir in the Paris green, with an
old shovel or other implement. Put the
molasses into couple of gallons of warm
water, and stir this in the mixture, add
water sufficient to make IA thick mash SO
that it can be handled without running.
Prepare the land several days in adj
vance of the time of planting, and after
the drills are made place about table
spoonful of this poison mash near the
spot where the plant will be set later.
This should be done to days before
the plants are set. AS the worms feed
mostly at night, drop the poison bait Ill
the afternoon as near evening as possible;
but if a large area is to be covered then
it will be no disadvantage to drop it at
any time during the day.
Keep poultry out of the field for several
days after the plants have been set, other
wise they will eat the mash and be poison
ed.
This remedy is SO simple and easy to
apply that there is no good reason why
farmers should lose SO much annually
from the attacks of cut worms.
Mr.. Henry C. Adams of Mechanicsville,
St. Mary's County one of the largest and
most successful tobacco growers in Mary
land, said: II adopted the remedy sus-
gested by you and the result was first
class. After preparing the drills appli-
ed small quantity of the poison mash
near the place where the plant was to be
set. The cut worms came up, eat it
readily, and were killed before the plant
ing of the tobacco.
1--WE often found five Or six dead worms
lying on hill, and we had no trouble to
get a good stand of tobacco. Without the
remedy, do not believe we would have
gotten stand at all with the number OF
worms in the ground.
At any rate the crop would not nave
| been uniform. The material is inexpen-
sive and not to be compared with the ex-
pense and bother of replanting, which l
consider one of the most aggravating
and life destroying jobs on farm. The
suggestion made by you is worth great
deal to me and supplies a need for which
tobacco growers have waited many
years"
The republican leaders will allow the
| Nicaragua Canal bill to pass the House
this week, simply because they saw that
they could not prevent it, but their pres
| ent program is to hang it up in the Senate
| for fear that its passage would not be
pleasing to England, which is already
somewhat displeased because the Nicara-
qua Canal treaty has not been ratified
Still, the country is expected to believe
the repeated assertions of administration
| men that there is no secret understand ding
between the Mckinley administration and
J the English government.