15 
seems to prevent the development of the fruit buds, and a loss of fruit 
for one year is apt to be experienced, the trees leafing out and grow- 
ing, however, perhaps more vigorously on this account. The soap 
treatment is perfectly safe for all kinds of trees, and is very effective 
against the scale. With large trees, or badly infested trees, prelimi- 
nary to treatment it is desirable with this as well as other applications 
to prune them back very rigorously. This results in an economy of 
spray and makes much more thorough and effective work possible. 
The soap can be secured in large quantities at from 34 cents to 4 cents 
a pound, making the mixture cost, as applied to the trees, from 7 cents 
to 8 cents a gallon. 
PYRETHRUM, OR INSECT POWDER. 
This insecticide is sold under the names of Buhach and Persian insect 
powder, or simply insect powder, and is the ground-up flowers of the 
Pyrethrum plant. It acts on insects externally through their breath- 
ing pores, and is fatal to many forms both of biting and sucking 
insects. It is not poisonous to man or the higher animals, and hence 
may be used where poisons would be objectionable. Its chief value is 
against household pests, such as roaches, flies, and ants, and in green- 
houses, conservatories, and small gardens, where the use of arsenical 
poisons would be inadvisable. 
It is used as a dry powder, pure or diluted with flour, in which form 
it may be puffed about rooms or over plants. On the latter it is pref- 
erably applied in the evening, so as to be retained by the dew. To 
keep out mosquitoes, and also to kill them, burning the powder ina 
tent or room will give satisfactory results. 
It may also be used as a spray at the rate of 1 ounce to 2 gallons of 
water, but in this case should be mixed some twenty-four hours before 
being applied. For immediate use, a decoction may be prepared by 
boiling in water from five to ten minutes. 
SULPHUR. 
Flowers of sulphur is one of the best remedies for plant mites, such as 
the red spider, the six-spotted orange mite, and the rust mite of citrus 
fruits. It may be applied in several forms, the simplest of which is 
its use as a dry powder dusted over the trees with powder bellows or 
any broad-casting device, preferably in the early morning when the 
foliage is damp with dew or immediately after a rain. For the rust 
mite in very moist climates, such as that of Florida, to keep the fruit 
bright it is sufficient to merely sprinkle the sulphur about under the 
trees. The flowers of sulphur may be easily applied also with any 
other insecticide, such as kerosene emulsion, resin wash, or a soap 
wash, mixing it up first into a paste and then adding it to the spray 
tank at a rate of from a pound to two pounds to 50 gallons, 
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