234 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 29. 1905. 



INSECT NOTES. 



15. ' FRlITALt, ' SPRAYER .SHOWING 

 WORKISi; PARTS. 



Barrel Sprayers. 



Li tlie Aiirii'Kltnrnl A>"'.-- (Vol. IV, p. 186) a biiel 

 description was given of the auto-siiray. The pre.sent 



jiiticle deals with machines of larger capacity which are 



adaiited for the work of sjiraying large trees, whereas the 



auto-spray is more suitable for work in garden or nursery. 



Barrel sprayers vary in size, and are of many makes, bearing 



various trade names. The figures shown on this page 



represent the 'Fruitall' (fig. 15), and the 'Gem' (fig. 16). 



Fig. 15 .shows 

 the construction of 

 the ' Fruitall" sprayer. 

 An ordinary cask of 

 45 or 50 gallons' 

 cai>acity serves as 

 a tank, into which 

 the [lump is fastened. 

 The pumpis a suction 

 and force puni}) and 

 is provided with 

 agitators or stirrers 

 which move in con- 

 junction with the 

 pump handle, and 

 serve to keeji the spray 

 mixture well stirred. 

 It is important to 

 have an efficient 

 agitator in all spray- 

 ing operations, but especially so when using arsenical poi.sons 



in combating leaf-eating insects, and when using F)Ordeau.\- 



mixture in combating fungoid diseases. 



The immp shown in fig. 15 also has an air chamber 



which provides for a steady stream from the discharge nozzle. 

 Fig. 16 shows the 



'Gem' pum|) in use, 



operated by one man. 

 The 'Fruitall,' 



' Pomona,' and many 'Sv^ 



other barrel pumps are f^Sl 



strong enough for two |S 



lines of discharge hose 



to be used ; thus threr 



labourers are emi>lijyed 



with each spray outfit, 



one to pump and one 



for each line of hose 



and nozzle. The barrel 



may be mounted on 



wheels as shown in 



fig. 16, or it may be 



carried by means of 



lioles in places where 



the ground is too 



tough to allow of the 



use of wheels. In addition to the pump and tank, tlie 



other requisites are one or two loads (.4 lir)Se of suitable 



length, and for each of these a nozzle extension and 

 nozzles. The nozzle extension may be a piece of galvanized- 

 iron i)ipe with .screw threads on either end. There are 

 two kinds of nozzles that may be used. The Vermorel 

 nozzle, which produces a very fine spray should be used 

 for spraying with ar.senicals, such as Paris green and 

 arsenate of lead, and with the contact insecticides, such 

 as kerosene emulsion, whale oil .soap mixture, and rosin 

 mixtures. The Bordeaux nozzle is to be used in sjiraying 

 with Bordeaux mixture, or when it is desired to throw 

 a stream some distance to get at foliage that would be out of 

 the reach of the Vermorel nozzle. The cost of a barrel spray 

 outfit, couiiilete, would be from !?20 upwards. 



Fifi. 10. 



'OEM' SPKAVINC Ol'T- 

 KIT IN USE. 



Wild Bees and the Cotton Worm. 



The followincr letter, signed by Mr. Henry A. 

 Ballon, B.Sc Entomologist on the .st.-itl' of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture, which appeared 

 in the Barbados Adrocafe of Jul}" 14, in reference to an 

 editorial suggestion in that paper to the effect that 

 planters should a.scertain whether the cotton worm 

 might not be successfully kept in check by the wild 

 bees without the use of Paris green, is published for 

 general information : — 



I notice that in yesterday's i.ssue of the Adt'ticdle you 

 publish an interview of a Daily Mall representative with 

 Mr. George Compere, in which lie gives some of his 

 experiences in hunting down the natural enemies of certain 

 insect pests. 



In anr>tlier place in the same issue under the heading 

 ' The Parasite Hunter,' you draw attention to the habit of the 

 wild bees of feeding on the cotton worm. I may say that 

 this predaceous habit of the species of wasps, called locally 

 ' wild bees ' and ' cow bee.s,' has frequently been mentioned 

 in the publications of the Imperial Department of Agri- 

 culture during the past two j'ears, and many of the planters 

 recognize them as natural enemies of the cotton worm. 

 I am fif opinion, however, that ample proof has been 

 furnished during the past two years that the natural 

 enemies of the cotton worm cannot in the least be dejiended 

 upon to control this pest, and that any planter who neglects- 

 to use some artificial check stands a very good chance of 

 losing his cotton crop. It is true that, in a few instances, 

 cotton has been grown without the use of Paris green, but it 

 has not yet been proved that the natural enemies of the cotton 

 worm are to be credited with the result. Any planter who 

 delays the application of Paris green, until he has seen how 

 far the natural enemies will be able to control the cotton 

 worm, will jirobaldy find, by the time the natural enemies 

 lia\e been proved unable to hold the pest in check, that the 

 worms have developed so far that even the application of 

 Paris t;reen will not save his cotton. 



Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. At the 



recent Agricultural Show held at Hope, -Jamaica, under the 

 auspices of the Port Itoyal Mountains Agricultural Society, 

 prizes were ofl:ered by the local society for the protection of 

 animals as follows : (1) the best bus (i.e. cab) and horse ; 

 (■-') the best pad mule; (3) the best pad donkey ; (4) the 

 best-fitting and most suitable harness. Considerable interest 

 was taken in these events, and the exhibits were decidedly 

 creditable. Competitions of this nature should be of con- 

 siderable value in furthering the objects of and arousing 

 interest in societies for the i)rotection of animals. 



