The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1917-06-15
CUTW0RMS EASY
TO GET RID OF
POISONED VEGETATION SCAT
TERED OVER A PLOT OF
GROUND DOES TRICK.
In Grain Land 1t Should BE SoWn
Broadcast, and it Should BE Re-
membered That Mash Containing
Poison Is Most Effective When
Moist; Use in Gardens.

Every one who has had a garden
knows how discouraging it is to get
up some morning and find that cut
worms, during the night, have eaten
off a good share of the tomato, cab
bage and cauliflower plants, just as
they were getting nicely started. In
such cases the mental disturbance
amounts to more than the money
loss. In many instances, however,
the financial loss, due to cutWorms is
extremely heavy. Market gardeners
frequently lose thousands of newly
transplanted plants; young fruit
trees are sometimes defoliated by
climbing cutworms and every few
years in some part of Montana cut
worms become so abundant that they
gather in armies and devour every
green thing in their paths.
Fields that have been in sod the
previous season and are then planted
to cultivated crops are very apt to
suffer from cutworms. Suspected
fields, intended for planting in corn,
sugar beets, cabbages or other crops
liable to be injured should be tested
in the spring before planting by the
use of few bait plants or some fresh
vegetation scattered about over the
bare soil to discover whether or not
it is safe to plant the crop. After
a day or two, if the worms are album
dant they will have eaten the bait
plants or will be in hiding near the
scattered fresh vegetation.
How to Poison.
If worms are found to be abundant
and the value of the crop warrants
the expense, it is we'll to scatter pois
oned vegetation on the field. Alfal-
ia or other fresh and succulent vege-
tation may be selected for this pur-
pose. 1t shauld be dipped into bar
rel containing Paris green and wa
ter in the proportion of one pound
to SO gallons.
vegetation heavily with Paris green
and then cut it just before it is need
ed. The poisoned vegetation is scat
tered in piles about the field and in
the absence of other food the cut
worm will gather at the scattered
piles, feed and be killed.
To protect plants grown from seed
as we'll as transplanted crops, a pois-
oned bran mash bait may be used.
Make as follows:
Paris green. one pound, wheat
bran, 20 pounds, cheap molasses, one
water enough to make stiff
mash.
Poisoned Mash Effective.
A small quantity of this bait is
then then placed in a little pile at
the base Of each plant or hill or
plants to be protected. 1t is some
times applied to fields before plants
are set out, taking the place of the
poisoned vegetation described above
On corn land it may be placed either
with seed drill or by hand, placing
a tablespoonful at each hill or plant
In grain land it should be sown
broadcast. The poisoned mash is
most effective when moist and
should, therefore, be applied in the
late afternoon or early evening; the
same is true of the poisoned vegeta-
ton.
In the home garden where few
plants of cabbages, tomatoes or SINH
lar crops are to be protected, sure
way is to wrap the stem in cylinder
of heavy paper or knock the bottom
out of a tomato can and then press
the tin cylinder down into the soil
around the plant.
If fruit trees are being attacked by
climbing cutworms. place poisoned
bran mash at the base of each tree
and band the tree with tanglefoot.
A narrow strip of fly paper tled
around the trunk would catch all
worms that attempt to pass.