16 
Somewhat more uniform results can be obtained perhaps by getting 
the sulphur into solution, either dissolving it with lye or by boiling it 
with lime. 
In making the lye-sulphur wash, first mix 20 pounds of flowers of 
sulphur into a paste with cold water, then add 10 pounds of pulverized 
caustic soda (98 per cent). The dissolving lye will boil and liquefy the 
sulphur. Water must be added from time to time to prevent burning, 
until a concentrated solution of 20 gallons is obtained. Two gallons 
of this is sufficient for 50 gallons of spray, giving a strength of 2 
pounds of sulphur and 1 of lye to 50 gallons of water. An even 
stronger application can be made without danger to the foliage. This 
mixture can also be used in combination with other insecticides. 
The chemical combination of sulphur and lime known as bisulphide 
of lime is perhaps a better liquid sulphur solution than the last as a 
remedy for mites. It may be very cheaply prepared by boiling 
together for an hour or more, in a small quantity of water, equal parts 
of flowers of sulphur and stone lime. A convenient quantity is pre- 
pared by taking 5 pounds of sulphur and 5 of lime and boiling in 3 or 
4 gallons of water until the ingredients combine, forming a brownish 
liquid. This may be diluted to make 100 gallons of spray. 
Almost any of the insecticides with which the sulphur application 
may be made will kill the leaf or rust mites, but the advantage of the 
sulphur arises from the fact that it forms an adhering coating on the 
leaves, which kills the young mites coming from the eggs, which are 
very resistant to the action of insecticides and result in the plants being 
reinfested unless protected by the sulphur deposit. 
A popular fallacy.—A_ strongly intrenched popular fallacy, often 
exposed but constantly being revived, is that sulphur is a valuable 
remedy against insects when put ‘nto holes bored. into the trunks of 
trees, the idea being that the sulphur, when plugged in, is carried up 
by the movement of the sap into the branches and distributed in the 
foliage, rendering the latter distasteful to insects. In point of fact the 
sulphur remains exactly where it is placed, and is of no possible advan- 
tage from an insecticide standpoint or any other, and furthermore the 
treatment is mischievous in that it injures to that extent the soundness 
of the trunk. 
PETROLEUM OILS. 
The emulsions of kerosene, or coal oil, with soap or milk have long 
been the standard insecticides for this class of insects, and especially 
the plant-lice and scale insects, and these emulsions still are the safest 
and most reliable means of getting these oils upon plants. The use of 
kerosene in the pure state as an insecticide was early experimented with 
by Comstock and Hubbard, and the feasibility of such applications 
was demonstrated, but the greater safety in the use of the emulsions 
resulted in a discontinuance of the use of the pure oils. Especially 

