169 



Pyrethrum. This is a very useful insecticide, possess- 

 ing qualities both as a stomach and a contact poison. 

 When fresh and of full strength it is a bright yellowish 

 powder with a pungent ordour, rather pleasant than 

 otherwise. In the tropics it finds its greatest usefulness 

 in connexion with fleas, lice and bed-bugs. Applied dry 

 to the coats of dogs and cats, and to the plumage of fowls, 

 it very quickly drives out fleas and lice, killing many of 

 them. 



Travellers in the tropics would do well always to carry 

 a supply of pyre thrum. A little scattered between the 

 sheets in hotel beds may ensure a good night's rest, which 

 otherwise might be impossible. For use on house plants, 

 pyrethruin is of great valne. An ounce of this substance 

 placed in one quart of hot water and then diluted to make 

 one gallon, forms an excellent spray or wash for killing 

 caterpillars and other small soft* bodied insects. A mixture 

 of pyrethrum with twice its bulk of flour makes an excellent 

 insecticide, the flour absorbing a certain porportion of the 

 poisonous quality, and all parts of the mixture becoming 

 equally effective. 



Pyrethrum, burned in a room which can be closed, 

 will stupify all mosquitoes and flies, and they can be 

 swept up from the floor and destroyed ; if left to them, 

 selves, however, they will recover. For this purpose 3 K> 

 to each 1,000 cubic feet is the amount to be used. 



Tobacco. Tobacco has a wide range of usefulness as an 

 insecticide, and when the stems, broken leaves, dust, etc., 

 are easily obtainable they may be put to a variety of uses 

 both as a contact insecticide and as a repellent. 



At the present time, there are several excellent pre- 

 parations on the market which are prepared from tobacco, 

 but these are probably not to be obtained in the West 

 Indies, Tobacco dust, applied dry, has much the same uses 

 as pyrethrum, and in a decoction also it is useful in the 

 same way, while it is even more so as an application to the 

 soil for the destruction of grubs, worms, and small pests 

 about the roots of plants. Tobacco dust and stems applied 

 to the surface of the soil about cabbage, melons, cucumbers 

 and many ornamental plants will often serve to keep off 

 injurious pests. 



Tobacco steins are useful in the nests of sitting or laying 

 hens, as a remedy for poultry lice. 



