THE YOUNG NATUEALIST. 



103 



Large White is very prettily marked, blue, with 

 yellow stripes and black spots ; that of the Small 

 , White is a beautiful green with a pa ] er line 

 along the back. Sparrows are extremely useful 

 *n destroying these and other caterpillars during 



1 the breeding season, feeding their young 

 . almost exclusively on green larva; of different 



sorts. A sparrow's nest near a garden should 

 . therefore be looked upon as a friend, and not torn 

 . to pieces as is too often the case. These do not 

 go into the ground to change to a chrysalis, but 

 . may be found on palings, under copings of walls, 

 _ &c, fastened by the tail and with a belt of silk round 

 . the middle of the body. There are two broods in 

 t a season, — the first flight of butterflies appearing 

 j on the wing in April and May, and the second in 

 3 July and August. One of these — the Large White 

 — has an insect enemy which serves to keep it 

 somewhat in check. It is a sm?ll ichneumon fly 

 which pierces the caterpillar and deposits 

 sggs in its interior ; these eggs hatch and produce 

 :he little grubs, which devour the internal parts 

 xnd when it should change to a chrvsalis 

 :hese little grubs creep through its skin and spin 

 >mall, yellow cocoons on the outside, and instead 

 )f it producing a butterfly it produces a lot of these 

 : ptall flies, which serve to destroy other caterpillars 

 ; md may therefore be classed among those insects 

 vhich are of service to man. These butterflies 

 ire much more numerous in some seasons than in 

 >thers, and some fifty or sixty years ago they were 

 ouch more numerous than they are at present. 

 There is yet another insect which proves very 

 J murious to cabbages ; it is a small beetle with 

 , long snout, the larva? of which form galls or 

 . umours on the roots, thus preventing the proper 

 ourishment arriving at the plant itself. It seems 

 ) be a mistake to crop the same piece of ground 

 ear after year successively, with the same kind of 

 lants, as by this means every facility is given to 

 lese insects to increase ; whereas if the crop be 

 hanged they must either perish or migrate, as 

 lsects of all sorts will' die rather than eat an 

 aproper food. 



INSECT POWDER. 



By G. C. Bignell, Stonehouse, Plymouth. 

 OWDER for killing insects, what is it ? I have 

 ten been asked the question, and until very 



2 cently could not satisfactorily reply to it, and I 

 :' ive no doubt many of your readers have won- 



dered what it is, or put it down as I did as a 

 nostrum made up by some chemist for his profit 

 rather than for the profit of the purchaser. I am 

 now able to say that the genuine Insect Powder is 

 made from powdered flowers of several species of 

 Pyrethrum, that made from Pyrethrum cineraria 

 folium (a native of Dalmatia, Austria) and sold as 

 Dalmatian Insect Powder is the best, that made 

 from Pyrethrum carneum and roseum is sold as 

 the Persian Insect Powder and is very good, but 

 not equal to the former in its action. 



In making this powder the half opened flowers 

 only should be used for that purpose, gathered 

 dtring dry weather and dried indoors in the shade. 



Seeing the article " Unappreciated Insects " 

 (pp. 69) reminded me of the Insect Powder. I 

 purchased a packet, but when I did so I had not 

 much faith in it but thought I would try it, 

 accordingly I strewed it on the kitchen floor close 

 to the walls and about the fireplace, and to my 

 great surprise and delight my servant next morn- 

 ing swept up half a dustpanful of dead and dying 

 cockroaches. The powder was put down nightly 

 until I may fairly say they were exterminated, at 

 least for the time. 



It has also been tried on house flies with very 

 good result, the method adopted in this instance, 

 and also for detroying that pest of the green- 

 house which so annoys the growers of flowers, the 

 Aphis or plant louse, is by blowing or discharging 

 the powder from the balls or bellows-like apparatus 

 in which it is often sold. When used in the green- 

 house it should be well puffed among the plants, 

 so that the dust may fly freely about, and after an 

 interval of two or three hours well syringed, which 

 will wash down those that have not fallen by the 

 action of the powder. This is a very great boon 

 to ladies who indulge in window gardening and 

 have not a gentleman to smoke the plants for 

 them. I feel confident it will prove effectual for 

 destroying all " Unappreciated Insects ; ' if good 

 Dalmatian Powder is used, 

 j In England we have three species of wild 

 j Pyrethrum — P. parthenium (Common Feverfew), 

 P. inodorum (Corn Feverfew), and P. maritimum 

 (Sea-side Feverfew), none of which have the 

 reputation of being good insecticides. I have not 

 tried them, therefore cannot speak from experience. 



I hope this will stimulate some to try our Eng- 

 lish Feverfews next season, and let the readers of 

 your paper know with what result. 



