II 



three or four times at intervals of three or four weeks, the scale 

 will be pretty thoroughly subdued, for the reason that the in- 

 terval will allow the eggs to hatch and the application will cover 

 them while they are still young, when they are most vulnerable. 

 We must also bear in mind that a heavy rain will wash off most 

 of the application which should, therefore, be repeated soon 

 thereafter. Let us also remove the erroneous impression that 

 the causticity of the soap makes the soap wash effective. The 

 fact is that it kills the insects principally by excluding the air, by 

 choking; for the water is evaporated soon after the application 

 is made, and the film of soap that is left forms a complete blanket 

 about the insect and prevents the penetration of air. Best re- 

 sults will, of course, be obtained by the most thorough applica- 

 tion, for it is seen that in order to kill it, the wash must actually 

 cover every individual insect upon the plant. Yet, it is not ad- 

 visable to apply much of the wash upon a single spot, for it will 

 tend to collect by the force of gravitation in the lowest point of 

 the spot or leaf, leaving the rest almost bare. Best results are ob- 

 tained by means of a nozzle that produces a very fine spray, 

 which should be moved about rapidly and not left playing long 

 upon a single spot. 



SPRAYING APPARATUS. 



Now as to apparatus, in the writer's opinion every house- 

 hold should be supplied with a knapsack spray pump, preferably 

 one in which the pump is worked by hand, just as it is supplied 

 with a lawn mower. To his knowledge Gould's (The Gould 

 Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y.) "Handy" knapsack pump is one 

 of the most serviceable apparatus. A cheaper instrument, though 

 somewhat less handy, is a bucket pump. This is so arranged 

 that it is fastened to the bucket and a foot may be placed upon it 

 to keep it in position, while the operator manipulates the pump 

 handle with one hand and the nozzle with the other. ''Vermorel" 

 is one of the standard nozzles in use for spraying purposes. For 

 extensive operations a barrel pump, carried about upon a wagon, 

 or even power pumps are fitted out, but in our Territory we have 

 as yet no excuse for these larger implements of war. Cali- 

 fornians are familiar with these outfits, for in that State, too, 

 despite the presence of numerous beneficial insects, they are still 

 afflicted with pests against which they are compelled to employ 

 spraying or fumigating apparatus and substances. 



