HELLEBORE : ITS DISCOVERY AND APPLICATION. 41 



the insects to be destroyed, — by mixing the powder with water, or by 

 a decoction made from the roots by boiling water, and applying it with 

 a sprinkler. 



Its insecticidal property was first discovered in England, when it 

 was employed for the destruction of the currant- worm — Nematusven- 

 tricosus Kiug, in the year 1841. When the same pest was afterward 

 introduced in this country, and had commenced to destroy currant 

 bushes in the vicinity of Rochester, in the year 1858, the liellebore 

 remedy which had been so successfully used in England was resorted 

 to here, and with equal success. Dr. Fitch, in his Twelfth Eeport on 

 the Insects of New York, writes thus enthusiastically of its virtues : 



** Words fail us for suitably expressing the value of this substance. 

 In the whole round of remedies for injurious insects we know of no 

 other one that is so efficacious, we know of no other one that possesses 

 such virtue for destroying any insect as does this substance for destroy- 

 ing this larva [the currant-worm]. It is a sovereign cure for the evil. 

 It is a specific. It operates like a charm. Easy of application and cer- 

 tain in its effects, it is all that can be desired. The larva does not re- 

 quire to eat it. It kills the moment it touches. In the words of R. 

 Lymburn, ' wherever a particle reaches a caterpillar, it collapses as if 

 stabbed,' yes, as if stabbed to the heart. Every one who notices this 

 powder as it falls upon a worm will confirm, the literal truth of this 

 statement. The worm is instantly convulsed with a death spasm, rolls 

 off the leaf and drops lifeless to the ground. It is ' a spectacle wonder- 

 ful to behold.' But if standing on the underside of a leaf where the 

 powder does not touch it, when it afterward comes to eat a particle of 

 it, its doom is sealed with equal certainty." 



Methods of use. — In using the hellebore as a powder, dusting 

 boxes such as have been previously mentioned in connection with the 

 other insecticides — a tin can with a piece of fine muslin tied over one 

 end — or even a bag of simple muslin, may be employed. The box or 

 bag should be attached to a short stick, of perhaps two feet in length, 

 to permit of its being thrust among the bushes, and to remove the 

 powder to some distance from the face, as when inhaled in the nQstrils 

 it excites violent sneezing ; this property has caused it to be employed 

 as the basis of many of the sneezing snuffs. Quiet days should be 

 selected for the dusting, unless its need, when discovered, admits of no 

 delay, as the fine powder is readily carried by the wind ; the gentlest 

 breeze that may be stiring will soon indicate to the operator the de- 

 sirability of the application being made from the windward side. The 

 slightest dusting of the leaves is all that is required. Before using, its 

 strength should be tested by applying a small pinch to the nostrils, 

 6 



