352 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



Quassia and Soft Soap Wash. Soak Ib. of quassia chips in a gallon of cold water 

 for some hours, then boil gently for an hour or more ; strain out the chips, add 5 

 oz. of soft soap, and, before using, 4 gallons of water. It should not be allowed to touch 

 fruit. 



Caustic Alkali Wash. This mixture is very useful as a winter wash for fruit trees 

 that are infested with American blight, scale, &c. It destroys all insect life with which it 

 comes in contact, also all moss and lichens. It is quite harmless to the trees so long as it 

 is used before the buds begin to open. It is very caustic, and should not be allowed to 

 get on the skin if possible. It will also spoil clothes, so that it should be used on a still 

 day to prevent it being blown on to the operator when using it. Make it as follows : 

 Dissolve i Ib. of ground caustic soda in a gallon of water, add f Ib. of pearl ash, stir 

 until all is dissolved, and then add 9 gallons of water, and lastly 10 oz. of soft soap which 

 has been dissolved in a little boiling water ; mix thoroughly, and the solution is ready 

 for use. 



Paris Green. This insecticide should always be used with care as it is very poisonous, 

 but it is very useful in killing caterpillars that are injuring the foliage of fruit trees and 

 plants. It is generally sold in a powder, but it is better to buy it as a paste, as it does not 

 then blow about. One oz. should be used with every 12 gallons of water and twice the 

 amount of the Paris green (bulk for bulk) must be added or the foliage will be injured. 

 The mixture must be kept well stirred as the Paris green is very heavy and soon sinks to 

 the bottom. It should be used as a spray, and only enough should be used to wet the 

 leaves and not to make them drip. Paris green should not be used when trees and plants 

 are in flower, or within a month of the fruit becoming ripe. 



In making up these recipes soft water should be used if possible. If hard water must 

 be used add a little soda. 



Gas Lime if applied at the rate of ^ Ib. to i Ib. per square yard will kill wireworms 

 and other insects that are infesting the soil, also snake millipedes, but no crop can be 

 grown on the ground for nine months after the application. 



Nitrate Of Soda is useful when applied as a strong solution in water to the roots of 

 plants. It is very distasteful to insects, &c. , and is a stimulant to the plants. 



Soot when fresh is useful if laid thickly round the plants, and then worked in, for keep- 

 ing grubs, &c. , away from the roots. 



Though it is impossible now to deal with the fungi which attack plants, it should be 

 always borne in mind that if a plant is infested any leaves that fall from it should be 

 collected and burnt, and the plants themselves, if only annuals, should be treated in the 

 same way as soon as there is no further use for them. If only thrown on a rubbish heap 

 or allowed to remain on the ground for some time an opportunity may be given for the 

 winter form of spores to ripen and reproduce its species the next season. The 



Best Fungicide for general use is Bordeaux mixture. To make it dissolve 10 oz. of 

 sulphate of copper in a little boiling water, and add 5 gallons of cold water, slake 6 oz. of 

 lime in water, and pour it into the copper solution when cold ; stir the mixture well so as 

 to be sure that all is of uniform strength ; then dip the blade of a bright knife into the 

 mixture for a minute ; if the colour of the steel is unchanged it is all right, but if the blade 

 has a coppery appearance more lime should be added or the mixture will injure the 

 foliage. Another test is to place some of the mixture into a plate, hold it up and blow 

 gently upon it for quite half a minute, when, if a slight scum like a little oil appears on the 

 surface, it is as it should be. 



