34 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Finally, a few words as to the prac- 

 tical application of insecticides. Given 

 a proper machine, the necessary poison, 

 the right time, and satisfactory weather 

 conditions, there is yet one more thing 

 needed : the proper man to do the work. 

 Slouchy or sloppy work is always inef- 

 fective and throws discredit upon the 

 method. It should be remembered that, 

 if you are spraying a stomach poison, 

 it must get to where the insects can 

 feed upon it, otherwise it can do no 

 good ; if you are spraying a contact 

 poison it must actually touch the insect to be effective. Spraying 

 the outside of a tree to kill scale insects clustered on the twigs, 

 trunk and branches, is waste of everything involved in the process, 

 and thus the intelligent holder of the spray-nozzle is really the most 

 important part of the whole outfit. 



Fig. 6 — Vermorel Triplet, for use at 

 end of a gas-pipe or bamboo pole. 



