FORTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT. 133 



man out our way who was almost crazy about the aphis — the green 

 aphis, the wooly kind— aud he used a lot of nicotine this year, and this 

 fall has the aphis the same as usual. I told him not to worry so much, 

 for it my conviction after an experience of twenty-five years, that the 

 green aphis comes in cycles, the same as locusts. In 1902 I set out 

 apple trees and the next year I was worried most to death. They did 

 not stay more than a year and then they went. Then later they came 

 back. The trees that I sprayed didn't have any aphis, neither did the 

 trees that were not sprayed — just the same. I do not believe in 

 a lazj^-man's policy, but I do believe that they are recurrent — especially 

 in particular sections. I believe that it is sending a dollar after 20 

 cents to try to control this by the use of Black-leaf 40. Sometimes I 

 have thought it was helpful, then again I have thought it was not. 

 There are some evils unmixed, and perhaps this is one of them. 



Answer: The weather comes in cycles. There have been experiments 

 made proving beyond the question of doubt that filack-leaf 40 does kill 

 the aphis when it is present. 



Question: But will it really do the Avork? 



Answer: I would like to inquire if it was really Black-leaf 40 that 

 you used? There is a lot of so-called Black-leaf 40 that is not what 

 it is represented to be. 



A Member: I had a similar experience — I didn't get the results that 

 I thought I should, and it scorched the leaves. 



Answer: Did you use this with lime-sulphur? Black-leaf 40 should 

 not do that — it should kill the louse without injuring the leaf. 



A Member: Tobacco stems did scorch the leaves. These were used 

 clear. 



Answer: I cannot understand why there was any scorching if the 

 tobacco stems vvere used straight or a mixture of straight nicotine. I 

 have scorched trees with clear water when the air was right but I 

 didn't ex])ect to do it. I once had a lot of tobacco stems analyzed. The 

 tobacco grower delivers them after the}^ have been sweated and every- 

 thing taken from the stems, after that they are thrown out and often 

 rained on, then they are sold for a cent a pound. When these are sub- 

 jected to a chemical analysis, it will be found that there is very little 

 nicotine present. Nicotine in its pure state is very poisonous. As the 

 Harvard professor said, when lecturing before a class, "Gentlemen, a 

 very small drop of- this placed on my tongue would kill a very large 

 dog." The black gluey stuff is not nicotine. The Black-leaf 40 is a com- 

 bination of the straight alkaloid with dilute sulphuric acid. We use 

 the combined nicotine because it will not evaporate so quickly. It 

 talce a lot of the Black-leaf 40 in cool weather to scorch the leaves, if 

 it does it at all. I feel that it may be possible that you got your scorch- 

 ing from lime-sulphur. 



A Member: I didn't get scorching, but I didn't get anything else. 



Question: What are the effects — or rather results — of powdered 

 arsenate of lead? 



Answer: It costs twice as much ])er pound and goes about twice as 

 far and as long as it does not get lumpy, I would rather have it. Fur- 

 thermore, you can use it in so many ways — you can kill cucumber 

 beetles by dusting it on, and it has been used on potatoes as a dust. 



