Fungicides and Insecticides 217 



popular as a fungicide. The sulphide is best kept in well-stoppered bottles, 

 as it decomposes quickly when exposed to the air. For indoor plants 1 oz. 

 to 5 gal. water is sufficient, but for outdoor plants 1 oz. to 3 gal. water is 

 not too strong. A little whitening may be added to show where the spray 

 falls. It discolours paint and woodwork. By adding a little soft soap 

 to the fluid it adheres to the foliage better, and if a fine sprayer is used 

 may be applied hot. 



22. Tobacco. This has always supplied an excellent insecticide to 

 gardeners in the form of washes, fumigants, and vaporizers, the active 

 principle of which is nicotine. It may be used in the form of powder, like 

 Hellebore, or as a wash when steeped in hot water, or in a concentrated 

 form in cakes and liquid. The waste ends of cigars, cigarettes, and tobacco 

 from pipes may be preserved to make a cheap and effective insecticide. 

 Three pounds of tobacco, steeped in boiling water and allowed to cool for 

 six hours, will make 10 gal. of insecticide, which will be improved by the 

 addition of \ Ib. of soft soap. 



23. Winter Washes of Lime and Sulphur. The formulae for these 

 have been given under Caustic Wash on p. 213. 



24. Woburn Wash. This is made as follows: 



Sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) or sulphate of iron (copperas) 1| Ib. 



Quicklime ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6 oz. 



Paraffin 5 pints 



Caustic soda ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 Ib. 



Water 9^ gal. 



Dissolve the sulphate of iron or copper in water by suspending in a bag 

 a few hours in advance. Put the lime in a jar with water not quite 

 enough to cover it. When the sulphate is dissolved and the lime slaked, 

 add a little more water to make the latter into a milk, and then pour in 

 the sulphate solution. Add the paraffin and churn the mixture with 

 syringe to produce an emulsion. Then add the caustic soda, which if in 

 powder should be broken up and dissolved separately before use. The 

 whole wash should be well mixed, and may be applied in the form of a 

 fine spray, but care should be taken not to let it drip on the ground or 

 crops beneath. This wash may be used for most of the pests infesting 

 the bark and shoots of fruit trees during the autumn and winter. 



Horticultural sundriesmen supply numerous brands of patent insecti- 

 cides and fungicides, such as cyllin, lysol, sodalin, VI and VII fluid, H. 

 Emulsion, &c., and many cultivators often find it more convenient to 

 purchase these in a state fit for immediate use, rather than go to the 

 trouble of compounding their own solutions. 



