The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-02-15
SWEETENED
POISONS
The Carefully Conducted Ex-
periments Show No Real
Merit

OnS in carefully cOnuNHt"I CNDcli-
ments: and !hat calcium al.senate
in dust form after careful study OF
the conditions and requirements ior
poisoning is ble--flicse sun
up the Recommendations o. the
entomologists, says Prof. a. +. Cor
radi in a statement on the much
discussed subject Of sweetened pois-
ons for boil wccvil control.
Little baby Poison sweet was
born in Texas, says Prof. Conradi,
shortly after the wccvil crossed
the Rio Grande in 1892. 1t could
not thrive there and had TO wan
der eastward with the wecvil, he
cause only he residents in Il newly
infested territory would entertain
it. South Carolina is entertaining
it now.
Numerous formulas and recipes
for making swectencd poisons for
boil weevil control are being rec
commended and q number of COM
mercial brands of swcetencd and
liquid poisons are appearing on the
market. Equally numerous devices
are put forward for supplying these
LIQUIDS and paSteS. Catchy express
Sions in connection with some Of
these formulas include 's'iclier
and secret binGtr. which convey
!! the impression that these myster-
ious discoveries Viii cause the ma
tcrial TO stick 10 the plant and re-
main good until eaten by the wee
vii. Whether The poison is applied
rs a spray or as D dus; the rate OF
decomposition goes forward in the
same manner and as weeV!l poiS-
on its decomposition is completed
In about four days.
Binders and sprcaders are in use
ov entomoloSistS and serve use
rul purpose under certain conditions
in binding the Spray ingredients
and giving body 10 the spray, but
they have 10 material merit IN
making the spray stick 10 the
plant. The fundamental condition
that makes the spray or the pow
der stick TO the plant is fineness.
and the finely divided spray or
dust properly applied has a ae st
effective sticking power.
Demonstrations 10 show the
sickness Of Substance by pouring
| It from a sprinkJing pot have no
senlblance whatever 10 a natural
rainfall where the drops. travel
GoWnWards hundreds of feet iRfore
they strike TIE plant.
Only Carefully Conducted Tests
Worthy Of Attention.
go material advantage has Yet
baen secured from the use OF
cyaetened poison il carefully con-
Quoted experiments throughout tn"
last twenty-five years, except APP
parently in one instance wheE ap-
piled 10 very young plants IN hot.
dry weather, which by itself would
have little significance. In this eX-
lperiment the weather was against
, the Weevil. and as no evidence has
been secured SO far that the weevil
is attracted by any sweet, it may
be assumed that the weevil was. at
tracted by the droplers of, nfeis-
tlre.
Some one says: John Brown
tried it and made a bale to an
acre. Was it checked? How did
he know that the sweetcned pois-
on was the determining factor in
making his crop? Bill Grimes
tried it and got nothing. John
Brown also says he treated his seed
with sulphur and made q crop. Now
would YOU believe this just because
John Brown said so? Sam Stokes
says the wcevil lives in tho roots OF
cookie bur. Now this is not so, hut
would YOU swallow il just because
sam says so?
Our recommendations are based
altogether on he results secured
from carefully conducted expert
mcnt. regardless OF who made them
provided il was Il qualified expert
mentor who made provisions for
determining by checks the value Of
the various factors that entered
into The problem
Careful study OF the Situation .Ad-
viscd.
In our recent office letter. Boil
Wecvil Poisoning in 1922, > We set
forth rs accurately as we could tn"
conditions under which poisoning
may he expected 10 pay. We con-
fine ourselves To the use Of cad
ciuln :4rscnatc in dust form, .Dn ac-
count OF the available records Of
positive results and also on account
Of he comparative economy in
time and labor We recommend
that every farmer who intends 10
use poison OBTAIN ilpmcdiatcN full
information in regard 10 the use OF
poison. ae we'll as duStinS ma
chimes. ana study the problem with
the greatest care and effort y
careful study OF. the method and
conditions under which poisoning
may be expected to yield profitable
results constitutes the FIRST step
in Il poisoning program. Anyone
not willing To co this, we are sure.
makes Il serious lnistak" TO invest
money in puiSonS or machines.
Manufacturers are noW studying
The probable output for ~. and
those desiring TO learn something
aboul she matter should not Wait
until the last moment 10 purchas"
Il nachi,:c bccaltS" they may up
set The entire poisoning problem.
\ definite schedule FOR POISONING"
viii be issued in ample time be