194 THE HANDBOOK FOR PRACTICAL FARMERS 

 Soap. — Ordinary soap is a valuable contact insecticide. 



Formula : 



1 pound Ivory soap or other soap of kno\\Ti quality. 

 14 gallons water. 



Boil the soap in five or six gallons of water until dissolved; 

 dilute with water to fourteen gallons and spray while still warm. 

 It is recommended for plant lice, red spiders, etc. 



Sulphur. — Flowers of sulphur is often dusted on plants to 

 prevent such diseases as the powdery mildews. 



Tangle-foot. — Is a sticky material often used on trunks of 

 trees, etc., to prevent caterpillars from crawling up to the leaves, 

 or to prevent wingless females of some insects crawling up the 

 trunk to lay their eggs. 



The resin-lime mixture. — This is a mixture often used, in 

 combination with a fungicide or an insecticide, to insure the 

 sticking of the necessary poisonous material to smooth, glossy 

 leaves. 



Formula : 



Pulverized resin, 5 pounds. 

 Concentrated lye, 1 pound. 

 Fish or other animal oil, 1 pint. 

 Water, 5 gallons. 



Place the oil, the resin and one gallon of the water in an iron 

 kettle, and heat until the resin softens ; then add the lye and stir 

 thoroughl}^ Add to this four gallons of hot water, and boil until 

 a little mixed with cold water gives a clear, amber-colored liquid. 

 Add water to make up to the five gallons. 



This is our stock solution. In spraying with Paris green or 

 Bordeaux mixture, take two gallons of this mixture, dilute it to 

 ten gallons, and add to forty gallons of spray. 



Tobacco. — Tobacco is a very important contact insecticide. 

 As a powder, it is one of the best remedies for root-lice on trees. 

 It may also be used in the form of dry stems applied in the same 

 wa}^ as the dust. As a decoction of the stems (the liquid obtained 

 from boiling in water), it may be used as a spray against plant- 

 lice. This decoction is also good for lice on cattle. Tobacco- 

 smoke, when generated in an enclosed space, kills numerous soft- 

 bodied insects. There are several commercial forms of tobacco 

 decoctions on the market, namely Nicotine, Black Leaf and 

 Nicofume. The latter is very highly recommended by green- 

 house men for the green fly on lettuce. We have found it 

 excellent for all kinds of plant-lice. 



Whale oil soap {Fish oil soap). — This is a conunercial product 



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