REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I904 387 



control of the San Jose scale. There is still considerable diversity as 

 to the best formula and method of preparation, and much attention 

 has been given to this phase of the subject because a slight saving in 

 either material or time amounts to a great deal in the aggregate, 

 when allowance is made for the large amount of spraying necessary. 

 There is in New York State a great demand for a reliable wash which 

 can be prepared very quickly and particularly for one which does 

 not require the prolonged boiling of a large amount of liquid. Such 

 a wash may be prepared with the aid of caustic soda, which material 

 appears not only to facilitate the solution of the sulfur but the heat 

 generated by it also aids in hastening chemical combination between 

 the sulfur and the lime. This process was first brought to notice by 

 the late Prof. V. H. Lowe of the State Agricultural Experiment 

 Station at Geneva, and further work has been done with it by Prof. 

 P. J. Parrott. his successor. Some preliminary laboratory experi- 

 ments with ordinary washing soda in place of the caustic soda were 

 somewhat surprising to us, and so far as both laboratory and field 

 experiments go, we have had much better success in securing a com- 

 bination between lime and sulfur with the use of this material than 

 when the caustic soda was employed. Washing soda or sal soda has 

 the advantage over caustic soda in that it may be obtained almost 

 anywhere, requires no special care in handling prior to its use, and 

 is a material with which most people are familiar. The spring ex- 

 periments with this wash conducted in 1904, indicate a high de- 

 gree of efificiency, apparently equal to that of a lime-sulfur wash .pre- 

 pared in any other way. 



Laboratory experiments with lime-sulfur combinations 



It has been very difficult for the entomologist to secure much 

 information regarding the chemical behavior of lime and sulfur 

 when boiled together, either by themselves or in association with 

 salt, caustic soda or other materials supposed to facilitate chemical 

 combination. This led us to experiment with a few of the 

 more common materials, first in the laboratory to ascertain their 

 behavior there, and then in the field to see if the work on a small 

 scale would be borne out by operations with larger amounts. The 

 following observations on experiments in a small way are placed 

 on record, since they may prove of service to others interested in 

 solving these problems and specially because they form a basis 

 for our work on a larger scale. 



