No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 125 



son lion covered with a thin film of oil. When ready to spray on 

 dormant trees or shrubs dilute one part with seven or eight parts 

 of water, or to specific gravity, as shown bv the Hydromter test of 

 1.04 to 1.03. 



Lime-sulfiir Solution (Commercial, Concentrated). Many manu- 

 facturers are placing upon the market ready-made C(mcentrated 

 Lime-sulfur Solutions. These are found satisfactory, and about as 

 effective as the Home-boiled Solution. They should be diluted, as 

 a rule, by adding to one part of the Concentrated Mixture seven 

 or eight of water, or to specific gravity, as shown by the Hydrometer 

 test, of 1.04 to 1.03. 



(b) Spring and Summer Spray. Effective work in controlling 

 these insects maj' be done in the Spring just after they have hatched 

 from the eggs, and are found upon the growing twigs and expanding 

 foliage. As soon as the aphids are seen and before the infested 

 leaves have become curled so as to shield the insects from the spray, 

 apply thoroughly one of the following spraj^s: 



1. Tobacco Decoction, made by steeping ^ pound of tobacco leaves, 

 stems, or dust in 1 gallon of water, slowly raised to a boiling point, 

 then allowed to cool. Continued boiling drives off the nicotine. 



2. Kerosene Emulsion. Made by dissolving 1 pound of soap in 1 

 gallon of hot water, and adding to this 2 gallons of kerosene, stirring 

 and whipping it until it forms a thick creamy mass. To this strong 

 stock soution add seven times its bulk of water. 



3. Whale Oil Soap dissolved in water in the proportion of 1 pound 

 to 5 or 6 gallons of water. 



4. Common laundry soap or soft soap dissolved in water at the 

 rate of 1 pound to 4 gallons of water. 



Pains must be taken to wet completely all parts of the infested 

 plants thoroughly. Should any Plant Lice escape owing to the dif- 

 ficulty of forcing the spray between the unfolding leaves, or into the 

 curled leaves, pick off and destroy the curled leaves, and repeat 

 the treatment as required. 



Where one does not have a spray pump at hand aphids can be 

 killed by dashing (me of the above solutions over the plants with 

 a whisk broom, or by bending the infested tips of twigs, rose bushes, 

 etc., over and dipping them into a pan containing the solution. 



H. A. SUEFACE, 

 Economic Zoologist. 



6. INSPECTION OF IMPORTED PLANTS, SEEDS AND FRUITS 



A very important duty of this office has been to inspect importa- 

 tions of plants, seeds and fruits to i)revent the ingress of obnoxious 

 insects or plant diseases. Tens of thousands of foreign plants have 

 thus been inspected as soon as they reached the point of destination. 

 It is enough to say that nearly one hundred nests of the justly 

 dreaded Brown-tail moth were found and destroyed during such in 

 sjtections. This work is mentioned in detail under the heading of 

 Inspection of Nurseries. 



