242 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



INSECTICIDES. 



The necessity of using insecticides needs no argument. There 

 are so many insects that feed upon vegetation, and do much damage 

 to forests, orchards, field and garden crops, that it has become nec- 

 essary to destroy or hold them in check. The use of poisons that 

 will insure wholesale destruction at a moderate cost is the only 

 practical method of coping with them, therefore insecticides have 

 come rapidly into use within a few years. It is important that all 

 orchard owners should become converts to this policy so as to insure 

 universal application of insecticides. It would be better if some 

 other way could be found to destroy insects, as the use of poisons 

 is attended with more or less danger to man and stock. There 

 is yet considerable prejudice against the use of poisons, and many 

 are deterred from using them, especially in orchards in grass or in 

 pastures, for fear of poisoning stock. The wholesale use of Paris 

 Green upon potatoes has made us familiar with poisons and 

 demonstrates that when properly used the danger is small. It 

 should, however, always be remembered that too great care can- 

 not be exercised with poisons and the following precautions should 

 be carefully observed : 



1. Insecticides should be carefully labeled Poison and kept out 

 of the reach of children. 



2. Never handle poisons with the bare hands. Oil the hands 

 as a precaution and cover any sores with court plaster. Light 

 leather gloves would be advisable. 



3. While spraying, keep to the windward of the trees. Wash 

 thoroughly after spraying work. Keep children out of the orchard 

 while such work is going on. 



4. The trees should not be sprayed until there is much dripping, 

 but as a precaution stock should be kept out of the orchard for a 

 week or two after spraying. The amount of poison that gets on 

 the grass in properly conducted experiments is not enough to 

 poison stock, but proper precaution is advisable. Prof. Cook 

 sprayed in the ordinary way, and then cut and fed the clover 

 under the tree to a horse, without producing symptoms of poison- 

 ing. The amount of poison put on an apple tree for codling moths 

 is so small, that if it all remained, no poisonous effects would be 

 noticed by eating an ordinary amount of the fruit. The usual 

 formula for spraying trees is one pound Paris Green to eighty gal- 

 lons of water and three gallons to a large tree. This would make 



