46 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



4. Miscible Oils. During the last few years several manufac- 

 turers have placed on the market under various trade names what 

 are now called miscible oils. These are petroleum rendered solu- 

 ble by the addition of vegetable oils, cut or saponified with an 

 alkali, and are really a sort of liquid petroleum soap which will 

 combine readily with water. They have been used principally 

 as winter washes against the San Jose scale, for which they are 

 most effective when diluted 10 or 12 times. For a summer wash 

 they have been used effectively against plant-lice and other insects 

 for which kerosene emulsion would be used, diluted 25 to 30 times. 

 In barrel lots the miscible oils sell at 40 to 50 cents per gallon, thus 

 making the cost of a gallon of mixture for a winter application at 

 10 per cent, 4 or 5 cents per gallon. 



5. Whale-oil and Other Soaps. Any good soap is an effective 

 insecticide for destroying aphides and young or soft-bodied larvae. 

 Any good laundry soap made into a thick solution one-half pound 

 per gallon is an excellent remedy for such insects on house- 

 plants. Whale-oil or fish-oil soap has been extensively used 

 against scale insects and plant-lice. The best brands are made 

 from caustic potash rather than caustic soda, and should contain 

 not over 30 per cent of water, there being wide variation in the 

 water content. For the pea aphis and other aphids 1 pound 

 to 6 gallons of water has been found very effective. For a win- 

 ter wash for the San Jose scale 2 pounds per gallon of water are 

 applied while hot, the soap being dissolved in hot water. The 

 soap can be bought for 3J to 4 cents a pound in large quantities, 

 thus making the treatment for scale cost from 7 to 8 cents a 

 gallon. 



6. Lime-sulfur Wash. The lime-sulfur wash has long been 

 the standard remedy for the San Jose scale on the Pacific Coast, 

 and during the last 15 years has come into wide use in the East 

 for the same pest. It has also been found to be an efficient 

 remedy for the pear leaf blister-mite and the oyster-shell bark- 

 louse. In addition to its insecticidal properties it is an excellent 

 fungicide, and the spring applications just before the buds start 

 are very effective in killing out the wintering spores of various 

 fungous diseases, while the diluted wash is being used as a summer 

 spray for fungous diseases in place of bordeaux mixture. 



