404- Mode of destroying the Red Spider, fyc. 



perhaps will not object to insert another recipe for destroying 

 them, in addition to the many which have already appeared 

 in the Gardener's Magazine. In all the recipes for destroy- 

 ing A'c&ri which I have seen, sulphur is an ingredient ; this, 

 in its crude state, will not unite with the liquids used for that 

 purpose, and therefore it can have little or no effect, except 

 when applied as a wash on the heated flues of a house. In 

 order to make it unite with soapsuds, tobacco water, and other 

 liquids usually made use of for destroying insects, it must be 

 converted into a sulphuret, by boiling it with lime or an 

 alkaline salt, as in the following mixture, which expeditiously 

 and effectually destroys the red spider, by merely immersing 

 the plant, or part infested, in the mixture : — 



Common soft soap half an ounce, sulphuret of lime * one 

 ounce by measure (or two table spoonfuls), soft water (hot) 

 one ale quart. The soap and sulphuret to be first well mixed 

 with an iron or wooden spoon, in the same manner as a mix- 

 ture of egg and oil is made for a salad ; the hot water is then 

 to be added by degrees, stirring the mixture well with a 

 painter's brush, as in making a lather, by which means a 

 uniform fluid will be obtained, like whey, without any sedi- 

 ment, which may be used as soon as it is cool enough to bear 

 the hand in it. 



This mixture will destroy every insect usually found in the 

 green-house, by mere immersion, except the C6ccus, or scaly 

 insect, which adheres so closely to the stem, or under side of 

 the leaf, that the mixture cannot reach its vulnerable parts ; 

 therefore, in this case, the mixture must be applied with a 

 brush that will dislodge the insect. If the mixture be put 

 into a wooden bowl, or any other shallow vessel, small plants 

 in pots, and the leaves and branches of larger ones, and of 

 fruit trees, may be easily immersed in it by pressing them 

 down with the hand. 



The above mixture will not destroy the black A'phides of 

 the cherry tree, nor the green A'phides of the plum tree, by 

 immersing the leaves and branches in it ; there being an oili- 

 ness on these insects which prevents its adhering to them. 

 It will destroy them by applying it with a brush ; but this is 

 too tedious a process. It has been recommended, by writers 

 on horticulture, to wash these and other fruit trees against 



* The sulphuret of lime is easily made in the following manner : — Take 

 of flour of sulphur one ounce ; fresh lime, finely sifted, two ounces ; soft 

 water a quart ; boil the mixture in an iron vessel about a quarter of an 

 hour, frequently stirring it after it begins to boil ; let it stand to settle, and 

 pour off" the clear liquor. If it is not used on the same day, it must be put 

 into a bottle filled with it, and be well corked ; for, if it be exposed to the 

 air, it will soon attract oxygen, and will then curdle the soap, and smear 

 the plants with a white substance, which is not easily washed off. 



