The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1912-06-14
The Buffalo Gnat.

Vie most serious pests known to owr
ets OF stock in the southern Missie
s,ppi valley. 1t usually appears 500
ai1er the first continuous warm spell i
carry spring, varying in its time of az
pearance according as the spring i
early or late. All the counties of thi
STATE bordering on the Mississippi river
ana ever some inland counties, are sub
]ect to invasion by this insect.
freventives: Various remedies hav
oeen tried for the prevention and de
struction of this insect, most of which
however, have proved ~impracticable
me most satisfactory way of dealin,
with 1t is to use some repellant or pre-
Ventlve. Smudges have thus ia
proved the best method of p~rotectin,
animals against the buffalo gnat. Man,
planters, during the year, collect al
sorts OF materials which will produce
dense and sitting smoke, such as lea
tner' rags, dried dung, etc. AS soor
as the gnats appear, they begin burn
ing these materials and keep the fire.
gong until the insects disappear
Smudges are located in the fields &c
protect the working teams, and in cit.
les hires are kept before the doors of
livery barns.
A coat Of mud or syrup has been
found to protect animals to some ex-
tent. 1t has also been observed that
short-haired animals, and those that
nave shed their winter coat of hair and
become smooth, are not 50 much
troubled as those covered with long
Hence it is of advantage to clip
horses early in the spring. Keeping
in carkened stables during an
invasion of gnats. is also of great aid
IN protecting the animals, because the
insects will not enter a dark roo to a
great extent. If the spring cultivation
can be postponed until the gnats disap-
pear, the danger will be averted by
keeping the horses and mules in dark
For planters who cannot wait until
the swarms have gone, various decoc-
have been devised for coating the
animals externally in hopes to repel
the insects. Many of these have been
found useful, but they necessitate fire.
quent application in order to be effect
i've. 1t is impracticable to use these
remedies on stock at large. Such stock
should either be confined in a dark sta
BILE or driven to high open ground.
1t has been found that grease of va
kinds is the best preventive. Cot
tonseed oil alone, or mixed with tar.
kerosene, crude oil, OF axle grease, are
among the best. These should be an
piled twice a day. All of these reme-
dies are more or less injurious to the
animal, but their effect is small as COM
pared with the gnat and soon passes
away when the use of them is discon-
A mixture Of oil and tar has been
found very effective against a closely
related fly. and on account of its sim.
and effectiveness is strongly rec
'mmended. A quantity of coal tar is
placed in the bottom of a large shallow
receptacle, and q small quantity of oil
Of tar, or oil of turpentine. is stirred in.
The receptacle is then filled with wa
Ter and allowed to stand for several
lays until we'll impregnated with the
'dor. The animals to be protected are
hen washed with this water as often
Is seems to be necessary.
Animals that are allowed to run at
arge during the winter and have no
'helter from the weather. are sure to
'uffer severity from the gnats. Cut,
bruised and ill-fed mules are the first
o die. Intelligent plSnters say that if
are well fed and cared for and
twice a day while working in
ne neid, tney scarcely ever die when
Ittacked.
Remedies for the Bites: The remedy
most highly recommended for the inju-
les caused by the bites, is to rub the
.nimal Thoroughly with water of am
and give internally a mixture of
0 to so grains of carbonate of ammo
ia to n pint of whiskey, repeating
he dose every three or four hours until
elieved.
Stock is said to have been cured by
epeated doses of whiskey alone, at the
anne time confirming the animal in a
DOL, dark place.
The immersion of animals in streams
ill often allay the fever and save
hem from death.
E. R. Lloyd,
Experiment Station, Ag'l Col.
of Mississippi. !