44 



iu its favor, and is not irritating to the skin, nor in any degree poison- 

 ous. 



The first use made of it was against that worst of all poultry pests, 

 the Chicken Louse (Goniocotes hologaster). This is a minute creature, 

 much resembling the Bed Spider so injurious to plants. It is often 

 found in birds' nests and is probably in this way communicated to 

 chickens. In the case in question these lice not only appeared in the 

 chicken house, but invaded, the adjacent stable, where they proved ex- 

 tremely irritating to not only the horse, but to the person in charge. As 

 soon as the matter was mentioned at the house measures were taken to 

 exterminate the pest. The chickens and other animals were excluded 

 from their usual quarters and the buildings fumigated with burning 

 sulphur. This was followed by a thorough dusting with air-slaked 

 lime, usually a dependable remedy. In this instance, however, these 

 measures did not suffice to expel all the lice, and complaints of the nuis- 

 ance continued. As a last resort the Thymo-cresol, a package of which 

 had just been received, was recommended, and a large quantity ot 

 water was prepared with the proportions of the remedy according to 

 instructions. AVith this the chicken house, inside and out, and the en- 

 tire stable was thoroughly drenched by the aid of the appliance men- 

 tioned above, and there was no further trouble with the louse. 



As a disinfectant its use was continued throughout the season in the 

 barn and outbuildings. 



As an insecticide my experiments would not j ustify me in recommending 

 it for general use. It was tried upon the beetles and larvae of the Potato- 

 beetle; upon the Squash Bug (Anasa tristis); upon the Twelve-spotted 

 Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica 12-punctata) ; upon the Harlequin Cabbage 

 Bug (Murgantia histrionica), and upon a number of other Coleoptera 

 and Hemiptera without appreciable effect. Various Aphididse were 

 destroyed by repeated applications; the larvae of the Cabbage Butter- 

 fly were also sickened by two or three doses, but a single wetting did 

 not suffice to do much good ; a strong solution — 1 part to 30 of water — 

 was used upon Harris's Apple Scale (Chionaspis furfurus) and upon the 

 Bose Scale and seemed to penetrate to and destroy the eggs ; but on 

 the whole it is not sufficiently drastic to kill at once by contact, and is 

 not speedily poisonous to vegetable-feeding insects if taken in with the 

 food. Its effects on vegetation are not injurious, except when a num- 

 ber of applications are made in succession without spraying with pure 

 water to rinse it off. I hope to repeat and extend experiments with it 

 another year, especially to give it a thorough trial on animal parasites, 

 for which but little opportunity offered the present season. 



