PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE 



Islands a fungus which it is hoped will kill them. 

 Several years ago a man in Negros got some of this 

 fungus from Africa, and killed great swarms of locusts 

 within a few days. A common way of killing night- 

 flying insects, such as the maize moth, is to put lamps in 

 the field, with a pan of kerosene under each. The in- 

 sects are attracted to the light, 

 and fly against it, and then 

 fall into the kerosene. This 

 kills all night-flying insects, 

 some of which are useful; but 

 in fields where the harmful 

 insects are numerous a great 

 many more of them are caught 

 than of the useful insects. 



Killing by Poisons. Some 

 substances are disagreeable or 

 poisonous to animals but not 

 harmful to plants. Tobacco 

 juice and arsenic are such substances. If tobacco leaves 

 are boiled in a little water, so as to make a strong juice, 

 and plants or leaves are washed with this juice, insects 

 will keep away from them. If arsenic is put on leaves, 

 insects which eat them will die. It would cost too 

 much to put these poisons on a field crop, like rice ; 

 but it often pays to use them on the more valuable gar- 

 den and orchard crops. They are put on by spraying. 

 The poison most generally used is Paris green, which 

 contains copper and arsenic. Paris green can be bought 



FIG. 39. Spraying machine 



