14 The Spraying of Plants. 



The trees were thoroughly painted with this when the buds 

 were swelling. He asserts that he used the mixture for twenty 

 years, so it must have been very effective in his hands. Nitre 

 was also applied for mildew on roses. 1 It was prepared by using 



Nitre 1 ounce. 



Water 1 gallon. 



In December, 1844, its use on chrysanthemums for mildew 

 was also mentioned. 



On June 13, 1840, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society 

 offered a premium for the most cheap and effective mode of 

 destroying the rose-bug. David Haggerston, of Watertown, 

 Mass., was awarded a premium of $120 on March 5, 1842, after 

 his remedy had been thoroughly tested by a committee. The 

 material which he employed was whale-oil soap, used at the 

 rate of 



Whale-oil soap 2 pounds. 



Water 15 gallons. 



He said the strength of the soap varied and this would re- 

 quire a change in the above formula in certain cases. He con- 

 tended that this is an effectual remedy for other troublesome 

 insects ; as the thrips or vine f retter, the aphis or plant-louse, 

 the black fly that infests the young shoots of the cherry, the 

 red spider, and other insects. He also asserted that it would 

 destroy mildew on peaches, grapes, and gooseberries, if weak 

 solutions were used. Whale-oil soap is to-day so well known 

 and so generally used against insect enemies that it is scarcely 

 necessary to say that many of the statements of Haggerston are 

 just. 2 



Loudon has recorded 3 several interesting recipes that show 

 how complex were many of the mixtures recommended. Some 

 of them contained so many ingredients that it would seem as 

 if any evil that plants are heir to would be reached by at least 

 one of them. Nicol's recipe was thought to be particularly 



1 Gardeners' Chronicle, 1844, Jan. 27, 53. 



> "Hist, of the Mass. Hort. Soc.," 1829-1878, 256. Country Gentleman, 1842, 

 134. 



"Loudon' s Encyclopaedia of Gardening," 1878, 785. 



