The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1931-07-02

cessful and is now universally
recommended as the standard
method of control. In the extern
sive grasshopper campaigns con-
Quoted in recent years by North
Dakota, Montana, and adjacent Ca
madam Provinces, thousands of
tons of this material have been US
ed with such success that the SUI
periority of this over all other
known methods Of grasshopper con-
troll has been proved beyond a
doubt.
The materials used in making
poisoned bran mash vary some
what according to local conditions.
Of number of formulas tried out
at Harvey, Mimi, during the sum-
mer of 1928, the following is the
best adapted to Minnesota condi-
| tons:
Coarse wheat bran Gree
from shorts) .-..-- 100 pounds
Crude white arsenic. pounds
Salt .-.---.-....--...... ........-... pounds
Amyl acetate technical
grade) ---.-..-...----- 3 ounces
Molasses dow
grade) ..-..-.....----.........-..-.. 2 gallons
Water .....-..---... 10 to IL gallons
Discussion of Materials
Bran-Use only coarse wheat
bran, free from shorts. Shorts
causes the mixture to stick togeth-
er in balls, greatly increasing the
labor of mixing. When scattered,
poisoned bran mash containing
shorts has a tendency to fall in
Jumps which are not readily eaten
by the grassnoppers and which are
dangerous to birds and livestock.
If bran is high in price and saw
dust can be had for the hauling,
a $3.50 mixture of the two can be
used with good results.
Arsenic-Finely powdered crude
arsenic is both cheap and effective.
Paris green can be substituted for
1t, pound for pound, but is much
more expensive. Sodium arsenite
can also be used and in the wet
method" of mixing has some adj
vantage over either crude arsenic
or paris green. This paterial Is
sold in liquid form for killing weeds
and as a dry powder. For killing
grasshoppers, use one quart of the
liquid or 2 pounds of the powder
in place of the pounds of crude
arsenic recommended in the stand
ard formula.
Salt-Any salt that will dissolve
quickly will be satisfactory.
Amyl Acetate-Insist on amyl
acetate technical" So-called "ba
mana oiP' and "bronzing liquids
should be avoided as they usually
contain only a small amount of
amyl aceate. Never use more than
the formula calls for.
Molasses : Sugar-beet or other
low-grade molasses is recommend
ed. If only high grade expensive
molasses is available, the amount
used may be reduced one-half with
out noticeably reducing the effec-
tiveness of the bait.
How to Mix Poisoned Bran Mash
Dry method - % Thoroughly
mix 100 pounds of coarse wheat
bran and pounds Of crude white
arsenic. or paris green. This can
be done by working the bran and
arsenic back and forth with a scoop
shovel on a tight floor or in a was-
on box, grain tank, or galvanized
watering trough. It is extremely
important that every fake of bran
L. ooakoI xxy;fI, the roicAn
(2) Dissolve 5 pounds of salt in
IL gallons of water in galvanized
tub and add 2 gallons of cheap
molasses. Stir until all the in
gradients are well dissolved.
60 Work the liquid materials in
to the bran and arsenic by adding
a little at time and turning with
a scoop shovel or rake until no
dry bran remains. A good mixture
will be uniformly moist and yet will
scatter into small fakes when
broadcast from the hand.
Wet Method = When large
amounts are to be prepared, mix
ing in 500-pound lots by the wet
method is more rapid than by the
dry method and no irritation Of
the skin follows as is often the case
when the dry method is used.
% Spread 500 pounds of bran so
that it lies about six inches deep on
a tight floor.
~ Stir 25 pounds of crude ar
senic to a thin paste in 10 or IL
gallons of water in an ordinary
tub.
f3) In a second tub dissolve s25
pounds of salt in 5 gallons of wat
er. Then add 10 gallons of molasses
and Is ounces of amyl acetate and
stir until well mixed.
"a Pour the two wet mixtures
at the same thine into a 30 gallon
barrel and add enough water to I'LL
the barrel to within 8 inches of the
top. Detail a man to stir the mix
ture in the barrel constantly, with
a long paddle, and impress upon
him that if he fails to keep the
material well mixed. poor results
will follow. Arsenic is very heavy
and if the mixture is not constant
ly stirred, it will settle to the bot
tom, resulting in a very poor dis.
tribution of the poison throughout
the bran. The use Of sodium arse
mite, which quickly dissolves In
cold water, in place of crude arse
mic, does away with this difficulty.
(5) Wet the entire surface Of the
spread-out bran by scattering the
wet mixture from buckets. About
one-fourth of this entire mixture
should be used in the first wetting,
after which the bran should be well
worked by raking from each end
of the pile. After each part OF the
bran is raked it should be gather
ed into a pile so that when the first
raking is completed there will be
two nearly equal piles. These
should then be turned with scoop
shovels and spread out in the same
way as at the beginning. BY add
ing the rest of the mixture in three
installments and raking and SHOW
cling each time the poison Is very
kAa Iocf onYllj-