HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



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prompt destruction, therefore, immediately 

 any are detected, is most important and essen- 

 tial. Fortunately the extensive experiments in 

 insecticides and the improvements in imple- 

 ments for applying them, enable us to fight 

 them so well that the damage done is scarcely 

 felt when the most is made of the opportuni- 

 ties within reach. In applying insecticides it 

 should he borne in mind that "enough is as 

 good as a feast." It is not necessary to 

 drown the insects with solutions, or to bury 

 them in powder, to Icill them ; the least parti- 

 cle of poison is sufficient to do its deadly 

 work, but it is necessary that " the least par- 

 ticle " and the insect come in contact. It is 

 much better to reach every portion of the 

 plant or tree, underneath as well as above, 

 with a fine spray of fluid, or a slight dusting 

 of powder, than to apply liberally in some 

 parts and carelessly overlook others, as is 

 the too general custom. To figlit insects 

 effectually it must be dune thoroughly, and 

 every inch must be covered. Besides, there 

 is much less danger of burning or injuring the 

 leaves and fruit by light applications. The 

 improved implements now offered for apply- 

 ing powders or fluids are great economizers, 

 covering large surfaces, with less material, 

 doing it with greater speed, and reducing the 

 danger of injury to the plants to a minimum. 

 Of the many insecticides recommended for 

 general use in the garden or orchard the most 

 serviceable are London Purple, Pans Green 

 and Kerosene Emulsion. 



London Purple is rapidly taking the lead. 

 It is largely used in the public parks and on 

 government experimental farms, and is consid- 

 ered superior to Paris Green on account of 

 being more soluble, there being less danger of 

 burning the foliage with it. It is said to go 

 further, and is certainly much cheaper, which 

 is accounted for by its being a by-product. 

 When used as a powder it has also the advan- 

 tage of being more readily seen on the plants. 

 The adulterants usually mixed with it are 

 either land-plaster, road-dust, plaster-of-Paris 

 or cheap flour, and it is advisable to mix 

 thoroughly at least twenty-four hours before 

 use, which allows the adulterant to absorb 

 the poison, making it more effectual. "When 

 mixed with flour one pound of London Purple, 

 to twenty to thirty pounds of flour, is the 

 proper proportion, according to the tender- 

 ness of the piants ; mixed with land-plaster or 

 plaster-of-Paris, one pound of the poison to a 

 hundred and fifty pounds of the adulterant; 

 with dry road-dust, one pound of the poison 

 to a bushel and a half of the dust. In making 

 liquid solutions mix one pound of London 

 Purple with two hundred gallons of water, 

 but first wet the powder and form a thin 

 paste to prevent it from forming lumps. It 

 should be put in the water twelve hours at 

 least before use, for the best results. Paris 

 Green can be mixed in the same proportions, 

 and in the same manner. Kerosene in its 

 natural, undihited state is fatal to all insect 

 and vegetable life, but prepared (emulsified) 

 as recommended by the Entomological Divis- 

 ion of the Department of Agriculture at 

 Washington, may be used safely and with 

 much benefit. 



Kebosene Emulsion. Add two gallons of 

 Kerosene to a hot solution of one-half a pound 

 of soap in a gallon of water, and churn the 



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mixture through the nozzle of a force-pump 

 until it forms a cream-like mass. This may 

 be kept unchanged until needed for use. Feu- 

 general use reduce the emulsion thus made 

 with nine parts of water, and apply through a 

 force-pump or syringe, three gallons of 

 the emulsion making thirty gallons of the 

 spraying liquid. Besides its use as an emul- 

 sion. Kerosene, when used with discretion, is 

 a most valuable insecticide for the destruction 

 of Mealy-bug, Scale, etc., in the green-house. 

 A wine-glassful to a gallon of water is suffi- 

 cient, only when applying the solution the 

 water must be kept thoroughly churned by 

 forcing every other syringeful back into the 

 bucket so as to keep it thoroughly mixed. 

 Small plants, such as Camellias, Azaleas, 

 Ardisias, Palms, etc., may be safely dipped in 

 the solution if at the same time it is kept 

 thoroughly mixed as above. Hellebore, Per 

 sian and Dalmatian powders, Buhach, etc., 

 are valuable for destroying the Cabbage- 

 worm, etc. See Insects. 



Insects. In the green-house or grapery, or any 

 place where plants are grown under cover, in- 

 sects, with few exceptions, are under control; 

 but when in the open field or garden we are 

 often powerless against their ravages, par- 

 ticularly when they attack the roots of plants. 

 We can manage many of them, even outside, 

 when they attack branches or leaves; but 

 with others we are as powerless as with those 

 attacking the roots. There is no doubt that 

 the encouragement of birds on farms and in 

 gardens, by feeding and sheltering them, well 

 repays in the return for the insects they 

 destroy. In nearly all the large cities in this 

 country, since the introduction of the Euro- 

 pean Sparrow, though in part a seed-eater, 

 there has been a marked absence of the 

 " Measuring Worm," " Eose Slug," and other 

 caterpillar-like insects. 



The Eose Slug {Selandria rosea) is a light- 

 green insect, which, when fully developed is 

 about an inch in length. There are appar- 

 ently two kinds, one of which eats only 

 the outer skin of the leaf on the under 

 side, the other eats it entire. The first 

 is by far the most destructive. In a few days 

 after the plants are attacked, they appear as 

 If they had been burned. An excellent appli- 

 cation for the prevention of the Eose Slug is 

 whale oil soap dissolved in the proportion of 

 one pound to eight gallons of water; this, if 

 steadily applied daily for a week with a 

 syringe on Eose plants, in early spring, before 

 the buds begin to develop, will never fail to 

 prevent the attacks of this insect. If this 

 precaution has been omitted, and the insects 

 are seen on the leaves, white Hellebore pow- 

 der dusted on the plants will quickly destroy 

 them, without injury to the plants. The Eose 

 Beetle {Aramigus Fulleri) or Bug, as it is com- 

 monly called, however, is a much more diffi- 

 cult insect to deal with. The Eose or Grape 

 Vine Beetle {Melolontha subspinosa) is another 

 pest, usually destroying the flowers on the 

 Eose, and both flowers and young fruit on the 

 vine. The only certain remedy is to destroy 

 them by hand. 



The Green Fly, or Aphis, is one of the 

 most common, but most easily destroyed, of 

 almost any insect that infests plants, either 

 indoors or out. In our green-houses, we fumi- 



