REMEDIES' AGAINST THE HOP PLANT-LOUSE. 47 



phreys'* and "Canadas," both red and white, are not apt to mold, bur the 

 u English" and '-Cluster" suffer greatly and mold readily. The reason 

 fortbis is in the form of the hop. "Humphreys" and "Canadas", after 

 burring out, remain open, i. e., the burrs do not close or shut down as 

 they do in the "Clusters." The result is, in the first ease there is venti- 

 lation enough, the exudation from the punctures and from the lice does 

 not ferment, and mold does not form ; in the second there is no ventila- 

 tion* and first fermentation and then decay set in rapidly. " Hum- 

 phreys** suffer least of all, and as they are an early hop they can be 

 picked before the final host which attacks the hop is hatched. 

 "Canadas*" come next; they are later, but not only is the hop less liable 

 to mold, but the vine itself seems less to the taste of the aphids than 

 are the "English" and ''Clusters." 



REMEDIES. 



All sorts of remedies have been proposed and tried, with more or less 

 success. Washes of whale-oil soap and syringing with decoctions of 

 quassia have been tried by growers, with partial success. The numbers 

 were decreased for a short time, but the loss was soon made up, and the 

 labor was so great that operations were suspended, the more readily as 

 the growers do not desire to risk tainting the flavor of the hop by 

 washes. 



The great error in all these cases was that the application was not 

 made until after the insects were in full force, and the vines high up, 

 almost out of reach; of course under these circumstances it was impos- 

 sible to do more than temporarily reduce the numbers. 



The attack should be begun in spring. When grubbing, the root? 

 and young shoots should be examined, and any aphids that may be 

 found destroyed. As the vines increase in size they should be carefully 

 examined every few days, and when the lice appear these should be de- 

 stroyed by hand, for the number will not be large and the method is 

 certain. In my opinion it is now, if at all. that the winged female ovi- 

 posits or lays her eggs— not more than one or two on a leaf, and proba- 

 bly close to the midrib. If this can be prevented it will save the crop, 

 and that it should be prevented it is necessary to attack the insects 

 when they first appear. Then, when the first of the late forms appear, 

 about the middle of July, they will be found mainly on the lower haves. 

 wingless and in very small numbers: they spread very slowly at first, 

 and afford the grower ample opportunity, should he desire to avail him- 

 self of it, for destroying them by means of washes or Otherwise; as the 

 season advances, they become numerous, spread all over the vine, and 

 are then practically out of reach. 



As good a wash as can probably be found is a solution of carbolm acid, 

 either "Squibb's solution.'* containing 1 per cent, of the crude phenols, 

 which can be diluted with seventy-live times its bulk of water and still 



