September i, 1891 



THE HUMMING BIRD. 



73 



to human beings and the higher animals. It is the 

 pulverised flowers of some plants belonging to the 

 genus Pyrethrum, It is useful for many household 

 pests, as flies, mosquitoes and wasps, all of which are 

 quickly affected, either by having a small quantity 

 thrown into the air of a room by means of an insect- 

 gun or small bellows, or by a small quantity, (a tea- 

 spoonful,) being ignited and allowed to smoulder. It 

 seems to have a marked effect upon the breathing 

 organs of insects. Where practicable, a dry applica- 

 tion gives the best results. If mixed with four times 

 its weight of common flour, and then kept in a tightly 

 closed vessel for twenty-four hours, the mixture will 

 kill nearly all caterpillars it is applied to, and in this 

 strength becomes the best remedy for the caterpillar 

 of the Imported Cabbage Butterfly. It can also be 

 used mixed with water, 1 oz. to 2 gallons of water. 



V. Alkaline Washes. — A wash largely used in 

 Canada is that noted by Prof. Saunders in his " Insects 

 Injurious to Fruits," and consists of " soft soap 

 reduced to the consistence of thick paint by the 

 addition of a strong solution of washing soda in water. 

 If applied during the morning of a warm day this will 

 dry in a few hours, and form a tenacious coating not 

 easily dissolved by rain." 



Soap-suds made from whale-oil soap, ilb. to 8 

 gallons of water is a useful remedy for the destruction 

 of plant lice. 



VI. Carbolic Acid. — I have not found this substance 

 so generally useful as I anticipated from its powerful 

 odour. Prof. A. J. Cook, however, has experimented 

 extensively with it and claims that no fruit-grower or 

 lover of shade trees can afford to be ignorant of 

 the Carbolic Acid Emulsion. He says : " I make it 

 just as I do the kerosene emulsion, only stronger, one 

 part of carbolic acid — I use the crude material — to 

 from 5 to 7 parts of the soap solution ( 1 quart soft 

 soap, or 1 lb. hard soap, in 2 gallons of water) is of 

 the proper strength. This is the best preparation I 

 know of to protect against the apple-tree bark-lice and 

 apple-tree borers." 



It is applied to the trunks and larger limbs by 

 means of a stiff brush or cloth about 20 days after the 

 trees blossom. 



Carbolic Acid Wash. — Prof. Cook also recommends 

 for radish maggots a preparation made by adding 2 

 quarts of soft soap to 2 gallons of water, to which, 

 when heated to the boiling point, 1 pint of crude 

 carbolic acid is turned in. For use, one part of this 

 mixture is mixed with 50 of water and sprinkled 

 directly upon the plants once a week from the time 

 they appear above the ground. 



Carbolized Plaster. — This is simply one pint of 

 crude carbolic acid well mixed with 50 lbs. land 

 plaster. It is said to be very efficient as a deterrent 

 remedy for flea-beetles. 



VII. Tobacco. — This has been used for a long time for 

 fumigating greenhouses ; but from recent experiments 

 it seems to be worthy of wider application. Prof. J. B. 

 Smith found that a very useful decoction could be made 

 by boiling down 1 lb. of tobacco until 1 pint of liquid 

 contained all that could be extracted from it. This 

 was diluted with 1 gallon of water, and was very 

 effective in killing plant-lice, flea-beetles and other 

 insects. 



Tobacco has also been used as a wash for freeing 

 stock of vermin, and is very effective ; but is inferior, 

 for this purpose, to kerosene emulsion. 



To be continued. 



Water Rent. 



The 15 th of July I received from the collector a 

 notice to pay the rent due to the New River Company 

 for two quarters, "January to July," 1891. I was 

 quite surprised to see that the rent had been increased 

 from jQ 1 8s. to jQi 12s. 7d. per quarter, in conse- 

 quence of the new assessment on Poor Rates and 

 General Rate taxes in the parishes of St. Giles-in- 

 the-Fields and St. George, Bloomsbury. I can see 

 in the notice sent the following paragraph : — " By the 

 Water Rate Definition Act (1885) the annual value is 

 declared to be {within the Metropolis only) the rateable 

 value as settled by the Local Authority." 



This is all very well, but what has the water rent to 

 do with the rateable value as settled by the local 

 authority, I should like to know ! I always thought, 

 and am still of the same opinion, that water was paid 

 according to quantity required; but it seems that I 

 was all wrong. If any of my readers can tell me why 

 it is that I must pay a higher rent for water, although 

 I don't require more than I have always had, and 

 enlighten me on this subject, I will be very thankful, 

 as I cannot see what the water rent has to do with 

 the assessment settled by the local authorities. 



The Editor. 



Review of Scientific Books. 



The Ibis, A quarterly Journal of Ornitho- 

 logy. No. XI. July 1 89 1. Price 6 Shillings. 

 This fine work maintains its high reputation 



amongst the best Ornithological publications. The 



contents of this part are : — 



Ornithological results of an Expedition to the 



Philippine Islands in 1887 and 1888, by J. B. Steere. 



(Plates VIL— VIII.) 



On the Birds of the Lower Yantsee Basin. Part 1. 



by T. W. Styan. 



Notes on some of the rarer Western Palaeartic 



Birds, by H. E. Dresser. 



On a Collection of Birds from Western Szechuen, 



by Henry Seebohm. 



On British Fossil Birds, by R. Lydekker. 

 Note on the Collared Petrel Oestrelata torquata re- 

 cently reported to have been killed on the Welsh Coast, 



by Osbert Salvin. 



Remarks on Macgregor Paradise Bird Cnemophilu s 



Macgregori, by Ph. L. Sclater. 



