March i, 1886.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



663 



dust the powUer freely over the stems ami leaves, i 

 The plants should be thoroughly syiingi'd abou . tweuty- 

 four hours afWr the appUcatiou of the powiUn-. 



V. Toliacco JfaUr. — Tske a pouml of the strongest 

 tobacco leaves, boil them for hilf an hour in a gallon 

 of water, then strain uul add half a pouiul of Gum 

 Arabii" and boil again till this is thoroughly dissolved; 

 when cool add six gallons of olc^r wiiter. This should 

 be used iu the same way as No. 1, but the plants 

 must remain for about six hours before bciug syrini^ed. 

 The object iu adding gum is to iiwurs it.s adhering 

 to the insects. 



Nos. 1\'. and V. are recommended to the imiuitiated 

 iu preference to the others; they aro uofc only cheaper 

 but are rarely injurious to plants even when used iu 

 excess. 



AJIIlItlCAN BLIGHT. 



The American Bhght {Aphis Langera or Eriosoma 

 }[aU) is, we believe, entirely unknown in this country. 



ANTS. 



AVe next come to one of the most troidjlcsome of 

 ail insect families, and one of which this country 

 has a vast number of species. Autu, black, rotl, brown, 

 a«hy or yellow. Ants, omnivorous, carnivorous and 

 gralninivorous, aboimding in every district that is 

 not actually a swamp. Fortunately for the gardener 

 this is not one of those pests that seem to have been 

 sent into the world exclusively for his edification, or 

 rather we should say mortification. Ants distribute 

 their favors equally amongst all classes of society, 

 finding a congenial home either in a mud hovel or 

 a mansion, although it must be admitted that the 

 richer the food available the greater the attraction 

 for them. The following methods of destroying ants 

 are given in Quin's Garden Receipts: — 



B&ru's. — An effectual way of destroying ants in 

 places where boiling water cannot be used is to lay 

 half-picked bones about. These will soon be covered 

 with nnts, and can then be thrown into a vessel of , 

 boiling water, after which they should be again laid 

 down to attrack a fresh batch of victims. By per- I 

 Sisting in the use of this trap a house will be 

 completely cleared of ants in a short time ; the sooner. of 

 course, in proportion to the number of bones employed. 

 Camphor. — If the auts have forrae<l their nest at 

 the root of a plant, pour upon them a quart or so 

 of warm water, in which a piece of camphor, the 

 size of a Hazel nut, has been steeped. This thoroughly 

 destroys tiiem, and is not the least injurious to 

 the plant. * 



Chnfk. — To prevent ants from climbing trees scrape 

 the bark in a ring about 2 in. wide around the tree ; 

 then take a piece of chalk and rub it on the ring 

 all round till no green bark can be seen. The mo- 

 iiK'iit tile ants' feet touch the chalk it offers no 

 solid footing, and they fall back, not one being able 

 to ascend. A chalk mark, at least half an inch in 

 breadth, around the upper edge of sugar barrels, boxes, 

 &c., will not admit one ant into the interior. The 

 same mark drawn on the edges of shelves will al.so 

 prevent the approach of an ant. The chalk mark 

 must, of course, be perfectly continuous. 



FfowiT-pot-Trap. — Suppose a colony of ants to be 

 commencing operations on a lawn, it is an easy matter 

 to trap them all by placing a large empty flower-pot, 

 with the hole stopped, over it. The ants will build 

 up into the pot, and in a short time it may be lifted 

 with a shovel and carried away and dropped into a 

 ves.sel of water, which will make an end of them. 



F/oi'-ers of Hulphnr. — Flowers of sulphur are very use- 

 ful in checking ants where boiling water caniiot be aned. 

 Ga< Tar. — When ants make a run up the .stem of 

 a fruit tree, a line of gas tar all round will put a 

 stop to their progress, and do no barm to the tree* 



Cruapo, — It is not generally known that fresh Peruvian 

 guano will drivt; ants from any spjt. iiuiVever firm a 

 hold th^y mav hnv* obt«ined on it. 



Jfo ta>: — Ma':-; a mortar bed "f their nest, stirring 

 the ants iu with the mud until their nest becomes 

 a mass of mortar, which may then be removed. 



Pctro'eu/n, — Pouring of a little petroleum upon their 

 nest eveTy few day.s will effectually i(ill or bani.sh ants. 



Paraffin oil, beuzoliue, and kerosene are also very 

 effective. 



Qifdssia. — The following mixture has been found 

 successful ; — Four ounces of tpiiis^iu chips, boiled for 

 ten minutes iu a gallon of water, dissnlving in the 

 liquid while cu'diug 4 oz. of soft soap. 



Qnickfimf, — Perhaps as good a way us any of (xternn'n- 

 ating a nest of auts is to dig the nest opi-n and 

 Hood it with a kettle of boiling I'ater. If a bus]iel 

 of quiekli'ue be then thrown in and the earth replaced, 

 the colony nill be broken up, and the few nnts left 

 will seek other quarters. 



Baw M*''it. — A very effectual plan of getting rid of 

 ants is to place raw meat in dishes or vessels of any 

 kind about places which they infest, ai\d as they 

 prefer that kind of food to any other, they surround 

 it in thousands. Jioiling water is then poured upon 

 them, and this, if persistently applied, ^vith the bait 

 above reccnmended, will iu time effect a good riddance. 

 Suft Soup and I'ota.s-h.^lu the *' Kevue Horticole," 

 September 1870, the following method of destroying 

 or banishing ants is described as having proved <juite 

 successful :~Take 2 oz. of soft soap, lib. of potash, 

 and 2h pints of water. Boil the whole together for 

 some time, stirring the Ingredients occasionally. 'J'he 

 liquor may then be allowed to cool. With a pointed 

 stick c dibble make holes here and there in the soil 

 infested by the ants, at a safe distance from any 

 plants which may be growing there, to avoid any 

 chance of their roots being injured by the mixture 

 (although this is doubtful), and fill the holes once 

 or twice with the preparation. By this means M. de 

 Forghet was completely successful in clearing his 

 Melon beds of these troublesome insects. 



Sir^et Oil. — Fill small phials two-thirds with water, 

 and add sweet or any other oil to float on the water 

 to within h in. of the top. Plunge these upright in 

 the ground, leaving only ^ in. standing out, near the 

 nest or runs of the ants. The ants will come for a 

 sip and go home to die. No insect can exist with 

 oil stopping U|> its spiracles or breathing pores. 



Treaded Sponf/r. — In houses ami other places where 

 hot water cannot bo poured on the soil without danger 

 to the plants, pieces of coarse sponge dipped in 

 diluted treacle will from a most efl'ectual trap. 

 The ants will crowd into the sponge, which sJiouid 

 he taken up from time to time and thrown into a 

 vessel of boiling water. Thick treach- spreaii on 

 pieces of brown paper is also very effective; thty get 

 entangled in ihe mass when sucking it, and their 

 bodies may be swept off the edge >; at ilifferent times 

 till the nests are much thinned of them. 



I'arioit.^. — Turpentine, gas-water, lime-water, a de- 

 coction of Elder heaves, chloride of lime, and chloralum. 

 dissolvo<l in water, soot ; wood ashes, soap-suds, tar, 

 paraffin oil, ami benzoline, have also been recommended. 

 fVatfV, — If the ants' nest should be in a pot amongst 

 the roots of a plant, the best way is to immerse the pot 

 and plant in cold water, and let it stand for five or 

 six hours, by which time the auts will all be drowned 

 and their eggs destroyeil. One of the most sinqde 

 and effectual ways to destroy ants is to pour boiling 

 water on the nests at night, but in those cases where 

 boiling water cannot be ajjplied, recourse must be h:ul 

 to some other remedy. 



YeUow Piii.ssiate of Potash. — Yellow prussiate of 

 potash (ferrocyanide), I drachm; raspings of quassia, 

 1 drachm ; sugar in sufficient quantity to form u 

 syrup. The ants are said to devour greedily and 

 die almost immediately. 



It must be borne in mind that in applying any 

 of the above remedies, it may be necessary to repeat 

 the dose several times. The ant is extremely tenacious 

 of life, and is one of the "die-hards" oi the insect 

 world. Not only this, but during the breeding season 

 as instinct lesds it to carry off its egLi*^ to a phice 

 of safety the moment tliat danger threatens, the 

 immediate neii'hbojrhood of the nest must therefore 

 be looked after, as will as the nest itself. '\\'heii 

 the ants are catight alive they miist l>e at once 

 carried away to « diMtant spot, and either bnrnt iK 



