768 



HORTICULTURi: 



May 20, 1911 



"INSECTS." 



A paper by M. C. Ehel, read before the 

 N. Y. Florists' Club, May 8, 1911. 



An intelligent discourse on insects 

 Is always interesting to florists and 

 gardeners, but when one is limited to 

 a ten-minute discussion on so impor- 

 tant a subject, as I have been by your 

 essay committee, it does not permit 

 of any broad presentation of all that 

 might be said respecting the many in- 

 sect pests so troublesome to those en- 

 gaged in any branch of floriculture, 

 and will afford me no opportunity to 

 say what I might like to regarding 

 some of the two-legged bugs we daily 

 encounter. 



In approaching your committee to 

 learn what they had in mind when 

 they called on me as to just what 

 points they desired to have me eluci- 

 date I was informed that they were 

 thinking of insecticides, but that their 

 modesty restrained them from placing 

 any limitation on me, and, as there 

 would be no insecticides were there 

 no insects, they gave me the entire 

 field to talk on, all providing, how- 

 ever, that I would restrict myself to 

 the time limit if I should attempt to 

 cover it all. As the treatment of in- 

 sects is more within my line than the 

 cultivating of them, I will confine my- 

 self to some of the methods for their 

 control. My experience has taught me 

 that entirely too little thought and 

 consideration is given by the grower 

 to this important feature of the busi- 

 ness, and the neglect of this at times 

 causes them serious loss, which might 

 easily be overcome by a little more 

 attention to the preventing of insects 

 getting a foothold on their plants. In 

 every other branch, the progressive 

 growers are alive to the new condi- 

 tions and methods employed and keep 

 themselves in tune with the times, but 

 when it comes to controlling insects it 

 appears that too many of them find 

 that their grandfather's ways are still 

 good enough for them. But plants are 

 very much like the human being, who 

 is not content to bear only what his 

 forefathers suffered, — they are contin- 

 ually producing new diseases and in- 

 sects and it is essential that the florist 

 or gardener who is ambitious to rank 

 with the successful of his profession 

 should study this important phase of 

 plant culture as he does the tempera- 

 tures and fertilizing, etc. 



Some growers prefer fumigating or 

 vaporizing, and others spraying, as a 

 means of insect control. From the re- 

 sults that are being obtained there is 

 little doubt that both remedies are 

 effective when properly applied, but 

 improper applications, no matter how 

 good the material employed may be, 

 must result in failure, and careless- 

 ness oftentimes is the chief contribu- 

 tor when bad results are obtained. 

 Both the methods referred to have 

 their special merits, fumigation being 

 more generally regarded as the most 

 ecenomical from the labor saving 

 standpoint. But on many of the large 

 places spraying is being resorted to 

 more and more, for it is found to be 

 the less harmful to plants, and with 

 proper system the labor of an estab- 

 lishment can be so engaged in the 

 work without additional cost above 

 that of fumigating; in other words, 

 when everything is done in its time 

 and place spraying can be made one 

 of the routines of the regular work in 



a house. Fumigating requires the fill- 

 ing of a house, while spraying is 

 necessary only in that part of the 

 house where the pests have taken a 

 hold, when cures are sought. Still, 

 every grower should bear in mind that 

 "an ounce of preventive is worth a 

 pound of curative" and nowhere can 

 this old adage be more truly applied 

 than in the control of insect pests. 

 Our most successful growers no lon- 

 ger wait for the insects to put in ap- 

 pearance but fumigate or spray regu- 

 larly to keep the pests down, as they 

 realize that clean plants make healthy 

 growths. Too much care cannot be 

 exercised in the use of insecticides to 

 obtain proper results. Many men are 

 satisfied to make a guess at the pro- 

 portions required and will not take 

 the trouble of careful measuring and 

 then when failure, or worse, injury 

 results, the remedies are immediately 

 blamed and the careless management 

 of those entrusted with the work 

 seems seldom to be considered. Fumi- 

 gation and spraying is regarded by 

 too many as only boys' work, although 

 no careful grower would set an ap- 

 prentice at work to attend to the fer- 

 tilizing of his houses and it certainly 

 does not seem that one of these de- 

 partments in the growing of plants is 

 of much less consequence than the 

 other. It must be admitted that much 

 more attention is given today to the 

 proper means and methods of insect 

 control than has ever been the case 

 in the past, and it is also true that the 

 means for their control are more ef- 

 fective than they have been hereto- 

 fore; but by no means has perfection 

 been attained and great opportunity 

 is still at hand for further improve- 

 ment to those who are giving thought 

 and study to the ravages which result 

 in the loss of millions of dollars year- 

 ly in the horticultural and agricultural 

 industries of this country. 



To substantiate some of my asser- 

 tions of the laxity found among so 

 many growers in the treatment of in- 

 sect pests, I recently came across a 

 grower in charge of a large range of 

 glass who condemned one of our prod- 

 ucts, because he could not get the re- 

 sults his neighbors were getting, as 

 not being a uniform material. On in- 

 vestigating I found that he had mis- 

 understood the directions given him 

 by a neighbor and was using the prod- 

 uct at half the strength prescribed. 



A similar complaint came to us from 

 one of the well-known estates of this 

 part of the country. A visit to the 

 place, and an investigation, found 

 that the man entrusted with this worl; 

 was trying to make a gallon reach tor 

 an area of glass for which two gallons 

 were required. His superintendent 

 now sees to it that he uses the neces- 

 sary quantity to obtain effective re- 

 sults. 



Most of you here are familiar with 

 the unfortunate experience which 

 Aphine suffered shortly after it was 

 placed on the market, due to the 

 placing of too much responsibility on 

 a man whose capabilities were over- 

 estimated, and who, for some unac- 

 countable reason, never uncovered, ap- 

 peared not to be satisfied with the 

 good thing he had but continued to ex- 

 periment until it practically resulted 

 in disaster. While the experience was 

 a costly one and the reputation of the 

 remedy at the time was badly shat- 



tered, persistency, however, has been 

 rewarded. For more than a year it 

 has proven to the most critical ex- 

 perts that its merits are equal to all 

 that has ever been claimed for it. Now 

 that it has fully recovered its reputa- 

 tion I want to thank those who, hav- 

 ing had faith in the product and know- 

 ing all the circumstances connected 

 with the unfortunate encounter did 

 not lose confidence in it, and espe- 

 cially the trade papers, for their im- 

 partial attitude and fairness at a time 

 when 'the power of the press" meant 

 much to us. 



PROTECTING WASHINGTON'S 

 SHADE TREES. 



The Bepartment of Agriculture is 

 preparing for an onslaught upon tree 

 pests just as soon as it is thought 

 the leaves are sufficiently mature for 

 the best results to follow spraying. 

 The terrapin scale on tulip poplars, 

 and caterpillars infesting other shade 

 trees are to be fought by means of a 

 new spraying outfit which has been 

 ordered. It is reported here that the 

 Denver park commission began spray- 

 ing early in February. Several times 

 the cry has been raised that the gypsy 

 moth had invaded Washington. Thus 

 far, however, according to the ento- 

 mologists, the worst foe to the capi- 

 tal's shade trees has been the tussock 

 moth caterpillar. The most satisfac- 

 tory campaign against this pest has 

 been to band the trees with cotton 

 or some other soft, fuzzy material 

 which the larvae cannot cross. This 

 year an arsenate of lead spray is to- 

 be made use of. 



F. J. DYER. 



Mason, Mich. — Mrs. C. M. Sander- 

 son has purchased a lot on North B 

 street to allow of an addition to her 

 plant. 



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BWENSBORB, IT. 



