60 FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the acid to a quart of lime : said to be effectual agaiust the striped flea- 

 beetle, Phyllotreta vittata (Fabr.), infesting the turnip, cabbage, rad- 

 ish, mustard, and many cultivated flowers, such as candytuft, sweet 

 alyssum and most others belonging to the order CrucifercB. 



Dusting with soot: recently recommended as quite as destructive to 

 the currant-worm as hellebore ; it may be questioned whether it can 

 operate as quickly. 



Dusting with wood-ashes : of greater value when applied to vegeta- 

 tion that will hold it for percolation by rain and dew, for gradual pene- 

 tration to the attacked portions. 



Dusting with road dust or any other fine material that will readily 

 adhere to a viscid surface, like that of the cherry and pear slug {Selan- 

 dria cerasi), closing the breathing pores. 



Showering a solution of soap by means of a force-pump: for killing 

 gcale insects upon the trunk, branches, and leaves of trees.* 



Showering fish-brine upon trees infested Avith scale insects has been 

 quite eflfectual in experiments with it — the oil with which it is 

 charged doubtless penetrating the scale and killing the eggs beneath. 



Smoking with burning tobacco confined by a vessel or tight bag over 

 house-plants for fifteen minutes, for scale insects. 



Watering with mustard water — a tablespoonful of mustard to a gal- 

 lon of water ; for soil of potted plants infested with worms and the 

 larvae of small flies. 



Spreading soot upon the ground over the roots of plants in gardens 

 attacked by small insects, and sprinkling occasionally with water. 



Pasturing sheep in orchards to feed on fallen fruit : for the apple- 

 worm of the codling-moth, and the apple-curculio [Anthonormis quad- 

 rigibbus Say).f 



*Prof. Comstock, who, in the course of his special studies of the scale insects (see Re- 

 port of the Entomologist of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture for 1880), has been experi- 

 menting extensively upon methods for their destruction, recommends a strong solution of 

 soap as preferable to any other substance, so far as known, for killing them without harm 

 to the tree. The solution, in his experiments, was applied to some orange-trees infested 

 with the red scale of California {Aspidiotm aurantii Maskell), of the strength of three- 

 fourths of a pound of whale-oil soap to one gallon of water, with the result of killing all the 

 insects upon the tree. A solution of half the above strength left only a few of the insects 

 upon the leaves alive. As the result of all the experiments made, one-fourth pound of soap 

 to one gallon of water is recommended — the application to be repeated after a few days. 

 {Ann. &p. Commis. Agricul. for 1880, pp. 286-7; Id., Proc. West. N. Y. Horticul. Soc. 

 for 1882, pp. 41-2). 



+Sheep, in orchards, are also of much service in the prevention of insect injuries, by the 

 more healthful condition of the trees through fertilization of the soil, not only by their 

 manure but largely from the quantity of the soluble salts of potash (estimated at one- 

 ninth of the weight of the fleece in the grease), which, as it is washed out by the rains, 

 gives to the soil an element which is almost indispensable in successful orchard culture. 

 For a statement of the benefit of sheep pasturage in ,an orchard, see Report Commis. 

 Agricul. for 1873, pp. 405-6. 



If the trees are young and the bark smooth, they may need protection from the sheep. 



