M^ 



fuu 'XmHCAi AQumji'rum&T, [Nov. 1, mi 



iiin-ii-fWfi 



spring ami the young lice immediately begin to exhaust 

 tlie vitality of "the plants by sucking the sap from 

 the tv\igs and leaves. They increase rapidly, in size 

 and soon mature, and it is a remarkable fuct that 

 the entire brood, without a single exception, are wing- 

 less females and in condition to propagate their species. 

 Their young, however, ure produced alive, and each 

 female may be the mother of fifteen or twenty young 

 lice in a single day. The second generation also 

 consists of wingless females, which grow up and have 

 their young in due time, and thus brood after brood 

 is produced to the .-.eventh generation, or even more, 

 without the appearance of a single male, but the 

 last brood in autumn consists of males and females, 

 upon which wings are developed, the eggs being laid 

 by the females as before mentioned, and remaining 

 upon the twigs until the following spring, when they 

 are hatched and their work of destruction begins. 

 The leaves and bark of plants much infested by these 

 insects are often completely sprinkled over by a 

 sticky, sweetish fluid discbarded by them, which upon 

 drying turns dark, greatly disfiguring the foliage. 

 This sweetish fluid is what attracts the ants, which 

 are very fond of sweets of all kinds. The ants are 

 very careful not to injure or disturb the lice, which 

 they treat with remarkable gentleness. Probably the 

 most effective remedy for plant lice is strong soapsuds, 

 which can be applied in the same manner as for 

 canker worms, by means of a garden pump. Some 

 fruit' growers use a decoction of tobacco with the 

 soap'-uds, which makes the remedy much mere effective. 

 American Oultivaior. 



♦ 



CURING A COLD IN THE HEAD. 



The commonest type of cold is that called " cold 

 in the bead," to distinguish it from " cold on the 

 chest." This " cold in the head " has certain well- 

 marked symptoms, a feeling of general malaise is ex- 

 perienced, often accompanied by a slight feverish 

 sickness- Then' comes a sensation of fulness in the 

 head, there is sneezing, a profuse flow of tears, an 

 irritating and copious discharge from the nose. This 

 means that the mucous membrane of the nose is 

 inflamed, and if this spreads down the back of the 

 throat the sufferer becomes hoarse. The best way 

 to treat this troublesome complaint is to take a " hot 

 drink." An orange sliced and put into a large cup 

 with a little .sugar sprinkled over it, and boiling water 

 poured upon it, and then drunk as hot as possible, 

 is both pleasant and beneficial. The feet should be 

 put into hot water, with or without a little mustard. 

 Thi-i foot bath should be taken at the bedside ; the 

 patient should be well wrapped up, and a blanket 

 placed across his knees should be drawn outside the 

 bath, so as to confine the steam. After keeping the 

 feet in the water for from five to ten minute.s, the 

 patient should lose no time in getting into bed, where 

 he will probably derive great benefit from the general 

 feeling of warmth, and from the flow of perspiration 

 which has been induced. If possible, at this stage, 

 the patient should remain in bed for two days, with 

 a fire in hi-s room, which should bo well made up 

 at iiiKJit, so as to krep alight ti;l mornnig. But keep- 

 ing in bed wilt do little good if the patient persists 

 ju holding a new.spfijnT or a book to read, for thereby 

 he h more dangerously csposed to cold then if he 

 Kere up, dressed and going al;out aa u,slial, The main 

 point is to keep throughly Wrappel up and constantly 

 warm, Even an uncomfortable degree of heat may 

 be beneficial, 



A email piece of camphor chewed and sucked is 

 very good. i5o is the inhalation of sulphuric acid gas— 

 n rcn;edy which was found to be in constant use by the 

 weavers of Kircaldy, who bad it among the materials of 

 their work. Buy two ounces of sulphurous acid (dilute) 

 from a chemist, and then take out the cork and inhale 

 - through the nostrils only, of course— the pungent gas 

 which i,s given olF. Some use Ferrier's snuff, and find 

 brnelit therefrom; but it must b,; used cautiously, as it 

 Contains a powerful drug— to wit, morphia. Ten or 

 f.welve grains of Dover's powder taken in gruel at bed- 

 time is good for aij adult, but should uotbe administered 



iiTiiT iiiitfi itia tim^BtmMiitmtsM 



to children, as it contains opium, which should never be 

 given to them without a doctor's prescription. To 

 avoid an unpleasant excoriation of the nose and upper 

 Ho during the course of a cold in the head, they should 

 bo often washe 1 thoroughly with soap and lukewarm 

 water and a little vaseline should be applied. If the 

 throat feels sore a chlorate of potash lozenge should 

 be sucked ocasionally. — HoKsehold Words. 



MEMORANDUM ON KILLING, PRESERVING 

 AND TRANSPORTING INSECTS. 



For killing insects, the best thing is a tin cylinder — 

 say, an empty tobacco-tin — with a closely fitting re- 

 movable cap hd at each end. The ordinary half-pound 

 tobacco tin, which is about 65 inches long with a cir- 

 cumference of 9J inches, is a'convenient size for most 

 insects. Into this a perforated tin diaphragm may be 

 fi.Ked, at about 1^ inch or 2 inches from one end of 

 the cylinder. The larger chamber will contain the in- 

 sects to be killed, while the smaller one will be used 

 as a receptacle for poison. 



The most effective poison against insects is cyanide 

 of potassium, but its peculiar property of deliquescing 

 with either heat or moisture renders it difflcult to 

 use. I have tried making up strong solutions of it 

 with plaster-of-Paris (calcined gypsum), but I find the 

 efl'ect goes off too rapidly, and the hardened cake 

 soon becomes perfectly innocuous, I have also tried 

 enclosing solid pieces of cj'anido of potassium in plaster- 

 of-Paris, but I have not yet succeeded in getting the 

 plaster to set properly. Should further experiments 

 in this direction turn put better, I hope to be able 

 to supply a convenient form of insect poison to any 

 one who wishes to possess it. 



Hitherto, I have employed essential oil of almonds, 

 a drop or two of which on a small piece of sponge 

 is quite enough to fill a tobacco tin with strong 

 fumes of prussic acid. In place of the oil, ordinary 

 flavouring essence of almond may be used, but its 

 effect is not so good. The oil may be obtained from 

 any chemist at every large station, while the flavour- 

 ing essence is procurable from all provision dealers. 

 Ordinary benzine is also very effective, and is easily 

 obtained from any chemist. It has further the pro- 

 perty of removing grea.sy stains from the wings of 

 moths, when directly applied. Before being placed in 

 a collection, the insect should be painted over with 

 a fluid composed of: — 



1 quart of methylated spirits. 

 1 oz. of mercuric chloride (corrosive sublimate). 

 1 oz. of carbolic acid. 

 This will preserve it from insects and mould. 



Larvie of i"-sects— grubs of beetles, bees, wasps, kc, 

 and caterpillars of butterflies and moths — may be pre- 

 served in spirits of wine. 



For transmission by post, larvie may be sent iu 

 bottles of methylated spirits. Beetles, grasshoppers, 

 and hard-bodied insects geuerally, should be placed 

 in tiii-boves with saw-dust, over which benzine should 

 be liberally sprinkled. 



The various species of insects in one box may bo 

 sepirated by layers of piper. Lepidoptera (butterlliea 

 and nuths) should be packed, with their wings to- 

 gether, iu jjieccs of paper folded into triangles with 

 the edges oVerlappiug. The specimens must not be 

 left loose in the box, bub so arranged that they can- 

 not be shaken in transit. When |)ackcd with insects, 

 the box should have all its interstices covered with 

 gum piper carefully applied, so as to exclude all ene« 

 mies.— M. H. Qi.WioMn.— Indian Forester. 



Origin' of the Br.ooD Oran'oe.— A corre.spondent 

 sends us the following cutting from the Tropical 

 Ai/ricuUu) ist respecting the origin of the Blood Orange 

 in the hope that its appearance in our columns 

 may lead to a discussion tending to confirm or refute 

 the ideas su|,'gested in it:—* * » (seepage Uo.) Of 

 course no gardener would admit the preposterous 

 notion that a Pomegranate would either graft or 

 hybridise wjtU an Orange.— (rart/cntM' ChroniQk, 



