164: 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



PERSIAN CHAMOMILE OR INSECT 

 POWDER. 



" How is the Persian insect powder 

 used to destroy flies, mosquitoes, bed 

 bugs, etc. ? I have tried burning some 

 but the fumes did not kill flies." 



A teaspoonfiil oipure " Persian Cha- 

 momile " heaped in a little cone and 

 burned in a medium sized room, that is 

 not ventilated during the burning, will 

 kill every fly in it. If it fails to do 

 this the powder is not genuine. To 

 test its purity, put a little in a bottle 

 with a dozen flies ; when the bottle is 

 closed they will go into spasms and die 

 almost instantly if the drug is what it 

 should be. " Persian Insect Powder," 

 like other things, is sometimes adulter- 

 ated ; it will also lose its strength if kept 

 loose too long. Druggists mix it with 

 other ingredients for various purposes. 

 Borax is a valuable addition when 

 cockroaches are to be disposed of, but 

 for flies, mosquitoes, and bed bugs, the 

 pure powder must be used. It costs 

 from seventy to eighty cents a pound, 

 has a bright, buff color, is light, bums 

 readily, and gives a rather pleasant tea- 

 like fragrance. It is the powdered leaf 

 of a harmless flower growing in Cau- 

 casian Asia, where for centuries it has 

 been used to keep the insect world in 

 subjection. It acts on their breathing 

 apparatus, evidently producing vertigo, 

 respiratory spasms and paralysis, but is 

 p irfectly harmless and not particularly 

 disagreeable to human beings. Of 

 course a little curl of blue smoke can't 

 be expected to kill the flies over all 

 creation or even in a large airy space. 

 It will weaken the ambition of all those 

 which come within its influence, but to 

 produce death the effect must be concen- 

 trated. 



In rooms where windows and doors 

 are opened the burning powder will 

 keep out unwelcome insect intruders. 

 In a house protected by screens, the 



flies already in may be most convenient- 

 ly disposed of by using the dry powder 

 with an insect gun, which costs about 

 twenty-five cents. Puff the powder 

 into a close, warm room, until the air 

 is filled with it, then shut the door and 

 return in half an hour. If every fly in 

 it is not either dead or dying, throw 

 away your powder and send to a reliable 

 dealer for that which is good. Pure 

 " Persian Insect Powder " never fails 

 in its effect. 



For bed bugs puff the powder with 

 the insect gun into all the cracks and 

 crevices where such vermin harbor ; 

 leave the room undisturbed for a few 

 hours, closely shut meanwhile, they 

 will walk out and surrender at dis- 

 cretion ; a semi-annual application will 

 prevent all further trouble. 



Dust your house plants, your pet dog 

 and your poultry with insect powder, 

 but don't undertake to kill spiders or 

 you will be disappointed. — Prairie 

 Farmer.' 



CATCHING CURCULIOS. 

 It is now over fifty years since I first 

 learned when a boy to catch curculios 

 by jarring on the spread sheet, and since 

 that I have tried several modifications. 

 Although I have published the mode 

 which answers best, I find some of our 

 best and most intelligent fruit growers 

 still pursue old and inefficient means. 

 Stout muslin about 6 by 7 feet is stiff- 

 ened with light rods along the opposite 

 edges, and these are kept apart with a 

 cross-rod at the middle. This cross-rod 

 is a little shorter than the width of the 

 muslin, so as to leave the muslin a little 

 slack and concave to hold the insects. 

 Iron plugs are set in the trees, if small, 

 or in the larger limbs if large, on which 

 a single blow with an axe brings down 

 every beetle. This is incomparably 

 better than any padded mallet, or any 

 other imperfect pounding. The operator 



