THE BLACK PEACH APHIS. 15 



to be kerosene emulsion ; and it must be remembered 

 that such preparations as London purple, Paris green, 

 hellebore, and other poisonous compounds are of little, 

 if any, use against aphides, since these pests suck the sap 

 only, and do not, as in the case of the Pear Slug, cater- 

 pillars, &c., eat the tissue or surface of the leaf; so that 

 they must be treated with a contact poison, and which 

 will, if heated, be all the more powerful when applied to 

 hardy trees. But in the case of peaches it would not be 

 advisable to have the material more than lukewarm. 

 When the tree is dormant, however, it can, without 

 danger, be sprayed on whilst hot, say up to 130 degrees 

 Fahr. 



The resin compound is another most valuable remedy. 

 In the case of tender trees, however, common washing 

 soda should be used instead of the more powerful caustic 

 soda recommended as one of the ingredients against the 

 hardier scale insects, &c. 



The following formula for the kerosene emulsion is 

 recommended by the New Jersey Agricultural College 

 Experimental Station, and I have not the slightest doubt 

 as to its success if properly applied : Kerosene, 2 gallons ; 

 water, 1 gallon ; hard soap, ^ Ib. Make a suds of the 

 soap and water, and pour, boiling hot, into the kerosene. 

 Churn well with a force-pump or a syringe, pumping out 

 of and into the bucket through a rose nozzle until com- 

 pletely emulsified. If the mixture is sufficiently hot it will 

 thicken in from five to ten minutes, and will be, when 

 cold, of the consistency of butter or of soft soap. For 

 Peach Aphis, dilute with fifteen parts of water. When 

 the tree is without leaves, a much stronger proportion can 

 be used, and the emulsion may then be used with safety 

 at, say, one part of the emulsion to ten of water. This 

 can be put on hot, as the remarks above quoted are only 

 intended to apply to spraying trees when the young shoots 

 are tender, or where the leaves are on the tree. 



A friend of mine, who has an orchard in the Dandenong 

 Ranges, assures me that he holds both kinds of Peach 

 Aphis in supreme contempt, simply by spraying the trees 



