spray them, not to cover the leaves with the poison, but
merely sufficient so that there are a few drops of this poisoned
material on the leaves so that the flies can eat it. Flies will come
there and feed upon this mixture and die.

It is rather peculiar that we started work here about the same time on
the cabbage maggot that they started work on the onion maggot along
similar lines in Wisconsin. I don't think that either knew that the
other was working towards that end. They used a different mixture,
one-fifth ounce of sodium arsenite, one-half pint of New Orleans
molasses and one gallon of water. This was sprayed over the onions and
was very successful in controlling the onion maggot.

I tried their mixture this last year. They published some of their
results last year, so it gave me an opportunity to watch their mixture
in comparison with the lead arsenate. They claimed the lead arsenate did
not act as quickly as the sodium arsenite. That is true, but when you
have a ten-day period to kill the fly it don't make much difference
whether it dies in ten hours or twenty-four. The flies are not doing any
injury. If you take the lead arsenate and sugar and water and put it in
a jar, the arsenate always sinks to the bottom, and if you were to test
it that way, the fly would feed on the top and you might not get a quick
result. But if you spray it on, the lead arsenate will kill as quickly
as the sodium arsenite.

There is an objection to the use of arsenite in that sodium arsenite is
a soluble poison and will burn the leaves of the cabbage. Of course,
that is not particularly serious as those are the first leaves the
cabbages have and the cabbage soon gets over any slight injury, but many
truck gardeners probably would object to that. In the onion you have a
different shaped leaf, and the injury is not so apparent. Last summer I
found that New Orleans molasses would give you a little bit better
result than the sugar, and it is cheaper. The objection to the New
Orleans molasses is the sticky nature of the material in handling.

I might mention in regard to opening cans of New Orleans molasses. If
you never opened one and try this treatment, be careful about opening
the can. The lid is pushed down tight and under warm conditions, or if
the molasses has been in a warm room there is a certain amount of
fermentation and gas under pressure, and if you pry it open quickly you
find the lid flies up in the air and you will proba