EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS. 227 



. TERMITES. 



Leucotermes flavipes. 



Every year seems to impress on us the conviction that white-ants 

 (termites) are not confined to southern localities but that they are 

 finding in Michigan suitable homes. 



At present we are trying to find a way to save a large cherry orchard 

 and a fair-sized peach orchard in Oceana county. These orchards are 

 set on ground formerly used for orchard purposes and many stumps are 

 present. 



The termites work from their nests in the old stubs to the young 

 trees, feeding on the otherwise healthy young roots and finally riddling 

 them. 



A treatment of paradichlorobenzene succeeded in driving the termites 

 down to a point where the gas did not reach them and also in some injury 

 to the young trees. 



At present the old stumps are being taken out with dynamite and 

 small nests will be treated with carbon disulphide. 



BORER REPBLLANT. 



After a search covering a period of twenty-five years the writer has 

 at last found a dressing which serves fairly well as a repellant against 

 the flat-headed borer and which undoubtedly will prove as effective 

 against other borers as well. During 1922 the formula stood as follows: 



Common laundry soap 50 pounds 



Water 3 gallons 



Flake naphthaline 25 pounds 



Flour 2 pounds 



Place the soap in the water over steam-pipes and allow it to soften 

 for a few days. Use a potash'soap which will form a smooth mixture, 

 not a soda soap since the latter becomes jelly-like. Then place in a 

 double boiler (we use a medium-sized wash-boiler placed inside a very 

 large one) and cook until the temperature reaches 180° Fah., stir in 

 the flour and add ll^ie naphthaline and bring the temperature to 180°, 

 at which temperature the naphthaline will have melted, the melting 

 point of naphthaline, being 176°, then cool as quickly as may be, stiring 

 the mixture occasionally. 



The more rapidly the mixture is cooled the smaller will be the crystals 

 of naphthaline. 



In our experimental work this mixture was made up during the 

 winter and stored in air-tight drums. It should be applied with a 

 brush after warming and thinning slightly to the consistency of heavy 

 cream. In our trials applications were made three weeks beginning 

 June 1st, and in no case thus far has any injury to the trees resulted. 

 At the same time almost no flat-heads have been found in trees so pro- 

 tected although they abounded in the checks and in some cases had done 

 very serious injury to young trees in the same orchards previous to the 

 application. Our tests have covered a period of about four years and 

 have been made on several thousand trees. 



