Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1911-03-03
EXPERIMENT STATION NOTES,

observation OF the WASHINGTON Ex-
pertinent Station at Pullman. a "bor-
en- present chiefly in the timbered
oIalfIets where 1t has attacked the
young orchards. Describing this pest
ana prescribing treatment, Prof. A. l..
Meiahaer OF the Washington Nxperi-
ment Station says:
his pest is produced by black
Ish BEETLE about one-half an inch in
length that flies during the latter part
Oh the summer. An egg is placed on
each tree, the borer Matching from if
IN time, killing the young trees
heso borers probably live several
years III the trees and the larger ones.
81 least, Will enter into the heart wood
10 pass the winter. If the trees are
small there is little hope of their
recovery, and the trees may as well
DC reset. The pest is native to our
pine TIMBER, but seems to be also fond
OF young orchards. The best treat
Hent IS III the way of prevention
! spray thorough coating of sulphur
Ilme containing an excess of lime on
the lower trunks Of the trees next
June, repeating this, if necessary, SO
as to keep the trunks coated through
out the summer. The sulphur acts
as deterrent and seems to protect
the trees from the egg laying habit
of the beetle
A pest OF threatened prevalence in
the wheat zones is the wire worms.
numerous reports of its presence hav-
ing been received at the Washington
Experiment Station during the past
summer. In brief report upon this
pest, Professor Melander says:
Treatment for this pest is very
difficult and never sure of results.
The best treatment is gradually to
work the pests out of the soil by re-
peated fall blowing. Each year that
you fall pillow you destroy some Of
| The worms, but not all of them. When
this is kept UP for year after year
for long period, the worms ought
| TO become less and less in number.
There is no practical treatment of the
| seed that has yet been discovered that
will keep off the wire worms; nor can
you poison them by any sort of trap.
| would suggest that, as an expert
ment seed be washed with a tobacco
liquid. Steep up a pound of tobacco
in gallon or two Of water and
sprinkle that over the seed. | would
not promise that this will be effective,
but it may help some at least.
Mice can be routed by placing
traps in their runWays or by strewing
bits of poisoned fruit where they are
apt to run. If you take raisins and
insert in each a small crystal of
strychnine and place these poisoned
raisins in the burrows of the mice,
! you will destroy a very great many
of them You must be careful, how
ever, not to let children or chickens
get at the poisoned raisins. Prunes
or bits of carrots would also answer. -
The grain weevil of warehouses
can be checked by fumi CATION, says
| Professor Melander.
The only sure treatment is fumi-
cation. To fumigate you must have
your bins perfectly tight and then
! fumigate them with carbon disuIphide
or potassium cyanide If you have but
/ q small bin | would suggest that you
place your grain in it and then put
la saucer or plate on top of the grain,
pouring in some carbon disulphde,
will destroy the pest, The fumes of
| the sulphide are heavy and will pen
citrate through the feed. After air.
| ing, the fumes pass away entirely, and
your feed will be as good as ever. If
your bins are empty you can fumigate
with potassium cyanide. Do this with
one ounce of cyanide to every 113
cubic feet of space to be fumigated.
To generate the gas you add one and
one-half ounces of sulphuric acid with
! two and one-fourth ounces of water
for every ounce of cyanide. 1t is well
to wrap the cyanide in loose paper
and throw it into a tin can containing
the dilute sulphuric acid, You must
remember that the gas formed is
deadly poison and must not at all be
breathed The next day you can air
out the bins and after a thorough air
ing you can use them for your flour.
Bear in mind that carbon disulphide
is as explosive as gasoline
Walla Walla growers have prac-
tically decided to abandon expert