REMEDIES FOR INSECT DEPREDATIONS. 59 



Kolling the ground to pack it and render it more difficult for root- 

 attacking insects to enter the ground for the deposit of their eggs. 



Applying benzine in floor-Joinings near the walls and beneath the 

 base-boards of rooms to kill the carpet- bug [Anthrenus scrophularim). 



Sprinkling with hot-water, of a temperature of from 130'^ Fahr. up- 

 ward; for the cabbage-worm {Pieris rapes), and many others. 



Sprinkling with lime water will destroy many of the more tender 

 insects. 



Sprinkling with alum water — one pound of common alum dissolved 

 in three gallons of rain-water, is stated to be effectual in killing cab- 

 bage caterpillars, and the currant-worm. 



Sprinkling with copperas water is destructive to many of the smaller 

 caterpillars that feed on shrubbery and garden plants. 



Sprinkling with sulphuric acid water — one part of acid to fifty of 

 water — is effective and safe on hardy plants. 



Sprinkling with a weak Solution of blue vitriol (sulphate of copper) 

 — one ounce to a pail of water — kills many kinds of larvae. 



Sprinkling with an infusion of quassia — three pounds to a barrel of 

 water — is recommended for killing cabbage-caterpillars, and prevent- 

 ing subsequent attack. 



Sprinkling with a solution of soft soap and carbolic acid ; for plant- 

 lice on rose-bushes, etc.* 



Sprinkling with a solution of one pound of whale-oil soap in one 

 gallon of water, for insects infesting rose-bushes. A solution of this 

 strength should after a few minutes be washed off with water. 



Sprinkling with tobacco water is an excellent remedy for many in- 

 sect attacks, from its poisonous nature. 



Watering copiously, at nearly the boiling point, for killing the peach- 

 tree borer. 



Watering with aramoniacal liquor from gas-works will kill many 

 larvae attacking root crops.f 



Dusting with air-shicked lime ; for the larvse of the asparagus beetle 

 {Crioceris asparagi), the larvae of the grape-vine flea-beetle {Graptodera 

 chalybea), and other similar Coleopterous larva?. 



Dusting with air-slacked lime and carbolic acid — a tablespoonful of 



*Take of the crude carbolic acid one part to ten of soft soap, and after mixing it thor- 

 oughly, let it stand for a few hours. Test the mixture by stirring a little in soft water. If 

 oily globules of the acid float on the surface add more soap to the mixture, and do so until 

 the globules no longer appear. Dilute the mixture to a moderately strong solution, with 

 which sprinkle the infested plants. If the plants are delicate they will need to be washed 

 off in a few minutes, otherwise the solution may remain to servo as a preventive, for some 

 time, from another attack. 



+A severe attack upon cabbages and cauliflowers was arrested by three or four applica- 

 tions of this liquid, diluted with twice its quantity of water and poured upon the soil di- 

 rectly around the stem of the plants {Miss Ormerod's Report on Injurious Insects, for 1881, 

 p. 8). 



