190 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA: 



3. RED OIL. -Dissolve 1 Ib. soft soap in 1 gallon of water by 

 boiling. Then stir in 1 gallon of red oil, and allow the mixture to 

 come to the boil again, stirring vigorously the whole time. Take 

 this off the fire, and agitate briskly for 5 minutes, so as to thoroughly 

 emulsify the materials. (In mixing these emulsions, it is always 

 safer if the process be carried on in a building detached from the 



^ / house.) For spraying, add 29 gallons of water, thus making the 

 mixture 1 gallon of red oil to 30 of water. This spray should not 

 be used on trees when the foliage is present, as it may burn the 

 leaves. This formula has been successfully used by Mr. Pescott 

 and other of the field inspectors against woolly aphis, mussel scale, 

 San Jose scale, etc.; and Mr. Pescott states that one spraying has 

 been found to eradicate the once-dreaded San Jose scale. 



4. CRUDE PETROLEUM. For spraying scale insects on foliage 

 trees, or for spraying trees in leaf. This may be used in place of 

 red oil. The method of emulsifying is the same, but the petroleum 

 can be used much stronger than the red oil. It may be mentioned 

 that all these emulsions work better if applied fairly hot. 



5. TOBACCO. Tobacco steeped in sufficient cold water to cover 

 it, and well macerated to extract the nicotine, is used as an excellent 

 remedy for black and green peach aphis. It should be used at the 

 rate of 1 Ib. to 4 or 5 gallons of water. Trees known to be affected 

 with either green or black peach aphis have been successfully 

 treated by placing 1 Ib. tobacco, broken up, a few inches under- 

 ground around the stem of the tree. This treatment should be 

 carried out early in June, so as to allow the rains to soak through 

 the tobacco and saturate the sorrounding soil. 



5. NICOTINE. In nicotine, if the best brands only are used, 

 we have an easy and effective way of dealing with insect blights of 

 many kinds. For small gardens and glass houses especially, 

 tobacco in this highly concentrated form is most useful, easily 

 prepared and more effective than are many of the so-called remedies 

 which are being constantly placed on our markets. 



6. CARBON BI-SULPHIDE. A very valuable aid to the fruit- 

 grower, miller and others. For root borer, make (with an injector) 

 4 holes 15 inches deep, 4 feet from the tree attacked, and into each 

 of these holes inject from 4 to 6 drachms of carbon, closing up the 

 holes immediately. If properly done and the soil be not too stiff, 

 i.e., clay or cement, the fumes will penetrate through the subsoil and 

 kill all grubs, and otherwise relieve the affected tree. This should 

 be done twice each year. Inspector Pillond reports that at White 

 Hills, Bendigo, and at Amphitheatre, this plan has been adopted 

 with great success ; in one garden at Amphitheatre, which was very 

 bad with borer four years ago, owing to the carbon treatment being 



