CHAPTER XXV 

 Insecticides for Amateurs 



INSECTICIDES have come to be recognised as a necessity in 

 present-day fruit growing, and the beginner has not long- made 

 his debut as a practical worker before he sees that they are 

 essential commodities. Insects abound in countless myriads 

 from the opening of the bud until autumn. Eradication is im- 

 possible, but the gardener who sets his mind to a difficult task 

 can, by repeated efforts in the use of substances that " kill," 

 diminish the number of pests, hamper their activity, and, by a 

 sort of guerilla warfare, greatly diminish their powers. 



Insecticides are employed to kill the insects either by direct 

 contact or by poisoning their food supplies, but certain prepara- 

 tions possess a kind of antiseptic power in so far as they ward 

 off the pests in some way ; all preparations used in summer, 

 however, must be employed with caution, for soft tissues of active 

 growth are susceptible to exterior irritation, and harm can be 

 done by too drastic measures adopted by annoyed gardeners. 



Soapy Liquids adhere to insects and eventually stifle them. 

 Soap of any of the common kinds, but preferably soft soap, 

 dissolved in warm water (at about 90 to 110) at the rate of 1 to 

 2 oz. per gallon, is quite a good substance to use for aphides, 

 greenfly, blackfly and the like, and recent experiments have 

 proved that what are called disinfectant soaps Carbolic, Nap- 

 tha, Cyllin, Kerol, Klensol, and other kinds are even more 

 efficacious than the commoner brands. Insecticides of this 

 nature, too, are cleansing agents that brighten up the foliage. 

 To prove effective, soap should actually cover the insect with a 

 thin film, but as this is rather difficult, scientists often advise 

 the admixture of petroleum or other oil with it ; petroleum, 

 however, has deleterious effects on all vegetation unless in a 

 very attenuated form, so that it must be thoroughly mixed 

 with the soapy water in order to be at once effective and not 

 dangerous. For summer use I should not advise more than 



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