f 
DESTRUCTION OF FLY LARVA IN HORSE:>-MANURE. aed. 
alkaloidal content; the two samples contained 0.25 and 0.41 per cent, 
respectively, and no differences in larvicidal action were evident. 
The powdered hellebore used in the other. experiments at New 
Orleans contained 11.49 per cent of ash, 1.04 per cent of total nitro- 
gen, and about 0.2 per cent of total alkaloids. The ground hellebore 
used contained 29.39 per cent of ash, 1.08 per cent total nitrogen, and 
0.2 per cent total alkaloids. It is therefore likely that commercial 
powdered hellebore of reasonable purity will be effective as a larvicide 
if applied as directed (p. 19). 
General discussion of hellebore.—There are three plants which are 
popularly called hellebore, namely, Veratrum album, Veratrum viride, 
and Helleborus nuger. The term ‘‘hellebore” is correctly applied only 
to Helleborus niger, which grows in Europe and is not at the present 
time a commercial product in this country. The white and the green 
are the two commercial varieties, the white being largely imported, 
and the green the American plant. For insecticidal work these two 
varieties are considered equally valuable. The American hellebore | 
(Veratrum viride), called ‘‘swamp hellebore,”’ ‘‘Indian poke,” and 
‘““itch-weed,”’ is a common plant in wet ground and grows over a con- 
siderable area of the United States. The properties of this plant are 
said to be similar to those of white hellebore. A number of alkaloids 
are claimed to have been separated from these two plants, but there 
is some uncertainty as to their identity and activity. Powdered 
hellebore, both the white and the green, is extensively used as an insec- 
ticide against the currant worm and to kill various insects around the 
roots of plants. Both varieties of hellebore are used in medicine to 
some extent. 
OTHER PLANT MATERIAL. 
Oxeye daisy.—Tests were made with the ground flowers of the 
oxeye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum), using 1 pound to 10 gal- 
lons of 1 per centsulphuric acid. The material was extracted for 12 
hours, and the extract was used undiluted and diluted 1 to 5. The 
larvicidal results were practically negative in both cases, but as the 
manure used in this experiment was lightly infested with larve and 
the results hardly warrant any definite conclusions. Bacteriological 
and chemical examinations were made of the manure treated with 
the undiluted extract. The bacterial count of the manure was some- 
what lower than the controls, while the only noticeable change in 
chemical composition was a decrease in the alkalinity due to the acid 
in the extract added. The oxeye daisy contains a volatile oil but no 
alkaloid has been found. | 
Pyrethrum.—Pyrethrum (Crysanthemum cinerariaefolium) powder 
was tried and two results from open-pile tests at New Orleans show 
that solutions containing 0.5 pound per 10 gallons of water had no 
larvicidal action (Table V, series 52,C and D). Pyrethrum contains 
a volatile oil, and an alkaloid has been detected by one or two 
investigators. 
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