Plant Sanitation. 



38 



[January, 1910, 



as effective as 'Primrose,' but at the 

 same time nearly half the price. The 

 Imperial Soap solution is made as fol- 

 lows : — Dissolve 1 lb. Imperial Bar Soap 

 in 1 or 2 gallons of water by boiling, 

 and dilute to 20 gallons." 



" Imperial Soap is an ordinary Yellow 

 Bar Soap made by the Bengal Soap 

 Factory in Calcutta; it has been select- 

 ed on account not only of its superior 

 insecticidal effect, but for its property 

 of forming a clean solution which will 

 not form sediment when left to stand, 

 and therefore does not require to be 

 kept stirred up, and which will readily 

 pass through the fine Vermorel nozzle 

 of the sprayer ; other makes of soap 

 having a tendency to form gritty de- 

 posits which choke the nozzle." 



" The simplicity of the solution makes 

 it very much easier to prepare and use 

 than Kerosene Emulsion, nor has the 

 soap any tendency to burn the bushes." 



The solution should be applied at the 

 rate of from 200 to 300 gallons per acre 

 for each round of spraying, the cost 

 of which application will be, for the 

 larger quantity, a little over Rs. 2 per 

 acre, as compared with Rs. 6 per acre 

 for applying 150 gallons of Kerosine 

 Emulsion." 



" It is obvious that the thoroughness 

 with which saturation of the bush can 

 be accomplished with the least amount 

 of labour and material must depend 

 largely upon the style of pruning carried 

 out before the spraying takes place. 

 Thorough cleaning out of the bushes 

 is an essential preliminary to effective 

 treatment of this blight, and should, 

 indeed, invariably form part of the 

 method of cold weather cultivation on 

 gardens liable to 'Mosquito." The 

 amount of solution required to thorough- 

 ly saturate a well-cleaned bush is less 

 than one quarter the quantity neces- 

 sary for use on one full of small shoots 

 and with its base choked with accumu- 

 lation of refuse." 



"As has been referred to earlier in 

 these pages, experiments have shown 

 that the supposition that Kerosene 

 Emulsion is able to destroy the eggs 

 is no longer tenable. Unfortunately the 

 same applies to Soap Solution, therefore 

 it makes it necessary to include at least 

 two rounds of spraying, so that those 

 insects present in the egg stage during 

 the first round may be destroyed as 

 larvte by the second ; the cheapness of 

 Soap Solution making two or more 

 applications possible," 



" If, later on in the season, when the 

 bushes are fuller of foliage, insects are 

 beginning to appear and fresh punctures 



are seen in the flushing shoots, spraying 

 should be carried out immediately, and 

 the quicker the round of the affected 

 area is completed, tbe better will be the 

 results." 



"Some of the advantages of using 

 Imperial Soap Solution are :— 



That it is the cheapest insecticide yet 

 discovered for Mosquito Blight. 



That it is exceedingly easy and simple 

 to prepare. 



That the solution need not be kept 

 stirred up while using it, as no sedi- 

 ment forms, 



That it does not wear out the spraying 

 machines. 



That it has no effect upon the young 

 foliage of plants. 



That plucking of leaf can be carried 

 out two or three hours after applica- 

 tion, or i.e., as soon as the solution 

 has dried on the bushes. 



That, when applied during a drought, 

 it makes the bushes flush exceedingly 

 well." 



The circular ends with an account of 

 the jungle plants upon which the insect 

 is known to feed in India. There are 

 four of these -.—Melastoma malabathri- 

 cum, Mcesa ramentacea, Eurya acumi- 

 nata, and Jasminum scandens. Mr. 

 Antram has found Helopeltis breeding 

 in the first two of these plants, and he 

 very rightly recommends their eradi- 

 cation from the neighbourhood of the 

 tea fields. Melastoma malabathricum 

 is a common plant in Ceylon and is 

 conspicuous by reason of its mauve- 

 pink blossoms. Trimen gives " moist 

 low jungle up to 3,000 feet" as its habi- 

 tat. Mcesa ramentacea does not occur 

 here, but a closely allied species — M. 

 indica— is one of the most abundant 

 shrubs in waste land. Eurya accumi- 

 nata is common in " moist low jungle up 

 to 2,000 feet," according to Trimen. It 

 is not unlike the tea plant in appearance, 

 and belongs to the same natural order, 

 Ternstromiacece, We have several wild 

 Jasmines in Ceylon, but Jasminum 

 scandens is not amongst the number. 

 In this country I have found Helopeltis 

 antonii feeding upon and breeding 

 in the succulent shoots of a species of 

 Eugenia, 



The second of the two circulars gives 

 the results of experiments with the 

 Soap Solution. These experiments were 

 carried out, under practical conditions, 

 on two estates. 



The Manager of Rampore Estate, 

 Cachar, reports :— 



"Blight made its first appearance on 

 the 8th of May, and spraying wag start- 



