611 



to assist in the campaign against locusts in the province of Terek, and 

 he supervised the work in the Khasav-Jurtov district, where over 

 16,500 acres were infested with the egg-clusters of Locusta mijratoria. 

 For the purposes of the campaign, the district was divided into sections, 

 separate gi'oups of workmen under a separate instructor being provided 

 for each. The total number of workmen engaged was 200, the rate 

 of pay varying from Is. 5d. to 2s. Id. per diem in the case of those work- 

 ing on foot and being higher or lower in accordance with the conditions 

 of the ground, and 4s. to 6s. per diem for those working with horse- 

 sprayers. The machines used were 10 Vermorel horse-sprayers, and 100 

 Automax and 31 Vermorel hand- sprayers. The area infested with 

 egg-clusters included reeds, meadows and fields, the largest immber 

 being concentrated in reed-beds near water, where an average of 5 to 9 

 clusters was found approximately on every 5 square feet. The 

 campaign was conducted entirely by means of the chemical method 

 and consisted of spraying with Paris gi'een and lime and with sodium 

 arsenite and zinc oxide. The first-named insecticide was prepared 

 as follows : — 3 to 5 lb. of green in accordance with the age of the locusts 

 (3 lb. being taken for those of the first three stages and 4 to 5 lb. for 

 those of the last two) were dissolved in about 3 gallons of water and 

 were mixed with a solution of 6 to 10 lb. of freshly slaked lime in about 

 3 gallons of water, the whole being then diluted with 30 to 40 gallons 

 of water. The second insecticide was prepared in the same way, 

 2 lb. zinc oxide being used instead of the lime ; to make it adhesive, 

 a solution of li lb. of soap in 3 gallons of water or from 10 to 

 12 lb. of black inolasses were added to each 80 gallons of 

 the above insecticides, this being specially important when spraying 

 reeds. The sodium arsenite insecticide was used exclusively for hand- 

 sprayers, about 2ilb. of it being required per acre, while the Paris 

 green was almost exclusively used with the horse-sprayers, the same 

 quantity being required per acre. Sodium arsenite caused the death 

 of the locusts to begin 15 hours after spraying and they were all killed 

 within 24 hours. Paris green gave the same results after three days, 

 the locusts beginning to die about 24 hours after spraying ; individuals 

 of the first and second stages succumbed more rapidly. The total 

 cost of the work was about £1,100, of which £700 was paid in wages ; 

 a total area of 5,073 acres was sprayed, the cost per acre thus being 

 about 4s. 4d. 



Medynsky (V. E.). flemeBbm h panMKanbHbm cnoco5T> 6opb6bi cii 

 CaflOBbIMM BpeflMTenflMM. [A cheap and radical remedy for the 

 control of pests of orchards.) — « lIporpecCMBHOe CaflOBOflCTBO M 

 OropOflHM4eCTBO.» [Progressive Fruit-growing and Market- 

 gardening], Petrograd, no. 28, 25th July 1915, pp. 780-781. 



An insecticide prepared from thorn apple (Lkitura) is said to be 

 as effective as Paris green, green soap and similar remedies. The 

 method of preparation is as follows : a ripe and dry plant, consisting 

 of stalk, leaves and seed, is chopped up and boiled in a closed boiler 

 containing about 27 gallons of water for every 100 lb. of the plant, 

 until half the water is evaporated ; the liquid is then strained and 

 the strengths required for actual use obtained by mixing two parts 



(C208) d2 



