IN'dA 



INSECTS 



SO.-) 



long to Calliiindra. Another allied genus is Pitbecolu- 

 bium. luga has pinnate foliage; the other two genera 

 have bipinnate foliage. In Inga the pod is scarcely or 

 slowly dehiscent: in Calliandra the valves (hdiisee elas- 

 tically from the apex to the base of the pod and ;ire n_-vu- 

 !ute; in Pitbocolobinra the valves are nffun twisted, Imt 

 never rolled back and elastic. 



A. Leaflets hulnj bem.'afJi . 



afJlnis, DC. (consult 1. diU<:h in thr supplementary 

 list). Lvs. simply pinnate; Ifrs. iu 4 pairs, ovate, acumi- 

 nate, pubescent above, sonnnvli;it shiniTi^ and villous be- 

 low, one side smaller than tlie otiier, ;{ in. long, \y^ in. 

 wide; petioles, branches, pedunch-s and Ms. Vf Ivety to- 

 mentose, a gland between each pair of lvs.: spikes soli- 

 tary or in pairs: corollas villous. Trop. Anier.— This is 

 probably the plant cult, in 8. Fla. and S. Calif, as /. 

 diilcis. 



AA. Leaflets not hairy. 



Feuillei, DC. Lvs. simply pinnate; Ifts. in rf-4 pairs, 

 iival-obloiig, acute at both ends, glabrous: pods 1-2 ft. 

 lung, linear, Hat, glabrous, white inside. Peru. — Int. 

 1000 by Fntnceschi. The sweet, edible pulp of the pods 

 is much prized by the Peruvians, who call it Pacay. 



/. aiidiiiaJa, Kuuth. Properly O.'illiiindra graiiiliflora, Benth. 

 Unarmed: U's. bipiunate; piuna) l;>-17-paired ; It'ts. more thiiu 

 20-pa,ired, linear, obtuse; petioles not glarKhiUir: brau(;hes, pe- 

 duncles and lis. puberuloiis: tls. rosy: pod linear, acute, nar- 

 rowed at the base, glabrous, thickened at the marjiriu. Trop. 

 Amer. — /. diilcis. The older plant ol* this name is Willdenow's, 

 which comes from the Philippines, and is described under Pithe- 

 colobium. I. diik'is, of Martins, comes from Brazil, and is I. 

 aftinis described above. Franceschi's plant of I. dulcis makes a 

 bushy tree, which he says comes from Central jVmerica, and 

 has pods containing a white pulp rich in sugar. This phint, ho 

 says, grows only in frostless districts, while Inga anomala and 

 pulcherriraa will grow where the lemon thrives. — /, pulc/u'-r- 

 riina, Cerv. Properly Calliandra Tweediei, Benth. Lvs. bipin- 

 nate; pinnre ;t-5-paired; Ifts. as many as 25-paired, paler and 

 slightly hairy beneath : stipules ovato-scariose, brown hairy: 

 peduncle being a head of about 20 fls. Mex. B.xM.41S8. P.M. 

 11 = 1^'- W. M. 



INKBERRY. Ilex glabra. 



INSECTICIDES. Substances used to kill insects, as 

 eommouly understood ; but, as dellned in dictionaries, 

 "one who or that which kills, or the act of killing an in- 

 .sect," constitutes an Insecticide. Hence there are many 

 natural Insecticides, such as winds, rains, sudden 

 changes of temperature, forest and prairie fires, insec- 

 tivorous plants, some bacteria and fungi, several of the 

 higher animals (including man), and many of the in- 

 vertebrates (including spiders and a host of parasitic 

 and predaceous insects). Oftentimes these Insecticides 

 of nature materially aid man in his warfare against in- 

 jurious insects, but usually it is necessary to resort to 

 a spray or some other artiticial Insecticide. 



Insecticides may be classed into those which are 

 eaten with the food and kill by poisoning ; powders, 

 washes and gases which kill by suffocation; and certain 

 oils and soaps which kill when they come iu contact 

 with the body, and may also suffocate by closing the 

 breathing holes. The poisons are effective against only 

 the biting or chewing insects, and the sucking insects 

 must be hit with a powder, an oil or soap; or both kinds 

 of feeders maybe suffocated with the gaseous Insecti- 

 cides. 



Arsenic is the chief ingredient in most poisonous 

 Insecticides. Its solubility in water, causing it to burn 

 the foliage severely, prevents its being useil ahme. But 

 by boiling one pound of it with two pounds of lime or 

 four pounds of sal-soda in two gallons of water for 

 half an hour, a very cheap, effective and reliable In- 

 secticide results ; use about 1,^2 quarts to 40 gallons 

 of Bordeaux mixture or water. 



Paris green is still the standard poisonous Insec- 

 ticide, but its cost and adulteration have recently 

 brought several substitutes, such as paragrene and 

 green arsenoid, on the market. London purple is too 

 soluble and variable to give uniform results; hence it 

 is not as much used as formerly. These arsenicals are 

 used at the rate of 1 pound in from 100 to 300 gallons 

 of water or Bordeaux mixture on fruit trees, the most 

 dilute on the peach. Arsenate of lead is now largely 



used against such iDse<-.ts as the gypsy moth and the 

 elm leaf-beetle; large quantities of' it can be used on 

 the foliage without injury, and it adheres better than 

 Paris green, but is sometimes more expensive. Helle- 

 bore, the standard currant worm remedy, is especially 

 valuable to use after fruits are more than half grown', 

 when there would be danger from the use of the arseni- 

 cal poisons. 



Tobacco in its various forms is one of the best Insec- 

 ticides for sucking insects; it is particularly useful in 

 greenhouses. Pyrethrum powder is the standard Insec- 

 ticide for house-flies, and is often elfectively used 

 against other insects. 



Kerosene is one of the nu)st active and effective of In- 

 secticides. It can rarely be used with safety undiluted, 

 but as an emulsion with soap, it has been the standard 

 remedy for sucking insects for many years. The for- 

 mula is: half a i)ound of soap, 1 gallon hot water, and 

 '2 gallons of kerosene; pour the kerosene into the hot 

 soap solution and agitate violently for a few minutes. 

 Recently, however, manufacturers have devised spray 

 pumps which combine kerosene and water into a good, 

 effective emulsion. These kerowater pumps can be 

 re.!4:ulated to use certain percentages of kerosene, and 

 they will doubtless largely do away with the making of 

 the kerosene soap emulsion. Whale-oil soap is now ex- 

 tensively and successfully used in killing scale insects 

 and plant-lice. It and the kerowater spray are the most 

 effective sprays now in use against the famous San 

 Jose scale, the pear psylla, and other sucking insects. 

 Crude in'troh'uni has l)een successfully used in combat- 

 ting cattle lice and the horn-fly, and now yjromises to be 

 an effective and safe substance to apply on dormant 

 trees for the San Jose and other scales. In California, 

 a i-esin wash ami a, linn-, salt and sulfur wash are ex- 

 tensively used and found vi'vy effective against scale in- 

 sects; in tln^ l-^ast these washes arc not S() effective. 



Two gases are extensively used in killing insects. 

 The fumes of carbon bisulfide are certain death to in- 

 sects infesting stored grains, seeds or clothing. Place 

 the infested material in a tight box; pour the liquid, at 

 the rate of 1 pound to each 100 bushels, or I pound to 

 each 1,000 cubic feet, into shallow dishes placed on top 

 of the materials, and quickly close the box, leaving it 

 for a day or so. The fumes are explosive; hence keep 

 all lights away. This liquid has also been successfully 

 used in treating melon and cucumber vines, under covers 

 for plant-lice. The other gaseous Insecticide is hj'drp- 

 eyanic acid gas, the uses of which are discussed below 

 under iScale Insects, page 812. 



The arsenical poisons seem to be equally effective 

 when applied iu combination with the fungicide Bor- 

 deaux mixture, and most fruit-growers now spray with 

 su'di a combination. Sometimes one of the Insecticides 

 for killing sucking insects has been successfully mixed 

 with the Bordeaux, but it is doubtful if they are as effec- 

 tive when thus applied. The poisons do not readily 

 Tnix with the soaps or oils, and, as a rule, one cannot 

 effectively hit sucking insects, biting insects, or the 

 fungous diseases with a single application of some 

 combination mixture. i\]; y^ Slixgerland. 



INSECTS. The animals which constitute the Insect 

 world play an important part in most horticultural 

 operations. T'he busy bee is an indispensable aid in the 

 production of many fruits, but the equally busy jaws of 

 canker-worms or other Insects oftentimes seriously in- 

 terfere with man's plans for profitable crops. Horti- 

 culturists should become more intimately acquainted 

 with their little friends and foes iu the Insect world. 

 Not only from the economic standpoint is this knowledge 

 necessary in the business of growing plants, but the 

 striking peculiarities of form, coloring, structure, habits, 

 anil the wonderful transfornuitions of Insects afford one 

 of the most interestin.a: fields in nature. The life-stories 

 of many Insects, if told in detail, would rival in variety 

 and interest many a famous fairy tale. The science 

 that treats of Insects, or entomology, has now reached 

 the stage where its devotees are no longer looked upon 

 as "crazy bug-hunters "in most communities. A recent 

 directory of the entomologists, or those interested in 

 the study of Insect life, of the United States and Can- 

 ada contains the names of over 1,200 persons. 



