POISON BAIT FOR CUTWORMS
| 3 lbs. wheat bran | |
| 2 oz. white arsenic or powdered lead arsenate | |
| ½ pint cheap molasses |
Mix all together and add enough water to make a mash that will stick together. This is very poisonous and extreme care must be exercised in its use.
XII
PLANT DISEASES
Most of our vegetable crops are subject to attack by fungus or bacterial parasites which cause disease. Preventive measures are the most important in combating ills of this nature. These may consist of providing unfavorable soil conditions for the disease, as in the case of cabbage clubroot, or disinfection of the “seed” as practised for the control of scab of potatoes. Other measures are: the application of protective sprays, which kill the spores of disease organisms when they germinate; rotation of crops; planting disease-resistant varieties; and the avoidance of material carrying spores of disease, such as manure containing parts of diseased plants.
Bordeaux mixture is the standard fungicide. The formula which calls for four ounces lump lime, four ounces copper sulphate (bluestone) and three gallons of water is the one most commonly used.
It is made by dissolving four ounces of bluestone in an earthenware or wooden vessel in one and one-half gallons of water. The lime is slaked in another vessel by adding water gradually until it forms a mixture of a milky consistency. Add more water to make one and one-half gallons and strain through cheese-cloth. After it has been strained it should be thoroughly mixed with the copper-sulphate solution and used immediately. Bordeaux mixture made in this way will not keep, but should be applied the same day. Stock solutions of copper sulphate and lime will keep indefinitely if they are not mixed together.
Liver of sulphur (potassium sulphide) is valuable for spraying plants affected with mildew. Use one ounce dissolved in three gallons of water. This solution discolors paint.
The following are some of the common diseases affecting vegetable crops:
Beans are attacked by anthracnose. It causes dark-colored, sunken spots to appear on the leaves, stems, and pods. It frequently penetrates to the seeds. Infected seeds should never be planted. It pays to look over all beans that are to be used for seed and destroy all that are discolored. Never work among the bean-plants when they are wet, as the disease, if it is present, is easily spread by this means.