492 
tme tropical AaRieuLtuRist. 
[January i, 1891, 
codling moth destroyed 90 per cent of his fruit. 
Another orchardist stated : — 
I have tried various remedies, viz., kerosene and 
water — 1 of oil to 16 of water — syringed on cold, which 
kills insect pests, but I thought the oil stopped the 
pores of the leaves, and so somewhat injured the trees ; 
I have also tried tobacco with sulphur, lime, and other 
remedies, but after experimenting for years I find that 
a mixture composed of soft soap — made with whale oil 
— blue oil, and sulphur is the best ; sulphur and soap 
boiled together, oil added after, and syringed on to the 
trees at a temperature of from 140® to 145° Fahrenheit ; 
if done during dry weather the trees should be syringed 
with cold water half an hour before using the mixture, 
so that the latter will adhere or be the more readily 
absorbed. I find that this mixture, put on properly, 
will destroy red and white scales, elephant beetle or 
borer, and all insect pests that 1 have had to deal with. 
If trees are badly affected they should be dressed in 
November, and again in early autumn. Scales multiply 
faster during autumn than any other time of the year. 
But we must quote in full the short but very 
important paper on the starch remedy, — the remedy 
of commonsense, and therefore of science, for 
scale insects: — 
Bed Scale on the Citrus Tribe: How it may be 
EASILY AND INEXPENSIVELY REMOVED. 
The following paper was sent in by Mr. J. Patterson, 
Tamworth, and was read by the Director of Agricul- 
ture : — 
I have had occasion to use many insecticides for 
removal of red scale from orange and lemon trees, and 
I find that the simplest and most effectual is starch. 
It is prepared in the following way : 2 lb. of the ordi- 
nary household starch are dissolved in a little cold water, 
then about 2 quarts of boiling water are poured over 
the starch solution, and stirred until it is thoroughly 
mixed. Add to this 16 gal, of cold water and stir well. 
The insecticide is now prepared and ready to be applied 
to the trees. 
The insecticide should be applied with a syringe when 
the trees are small, or with a spray pump, when the 
trees are large, and it will cause the following result : 
The foliage and fruit receive a coating of the starch 
solution, which adheres to the foliage and fruit, and 
smothers the scale, and in a few days it will come off in 
flakes, bringing with it the scale, leaving the foliage and 
fruit as bright and clean as if the trees and fruit had 
never been infected with scale. 
The insecticide should be applied during sunshine, 
so that it may dry quickly, and adhere to the foliage 
and fruit, and carry out its destructive work as in- 
tended. 
After the trees have been thoroughly treated with 
the insecticide they should receive top-dressing of 
stable manure to be dug in the following season, and 
the cultivator will find that his trees will produce large 
crops of superior fruit, and will repay him for the 
labour expended on them. 
The grand merit of this application is that while 
fatal to the insects, it inflicts no injury on tree 
or foliage. Benzole, which will not mix with water, 
and “ Quibell’s insect destroyer” (?) when sprayed, 
killed the fly on vines and other fruit trees. So 
in regard to oidium. Grasshoppers or locusts are as 
destructive in Australia as in America. When we 
visited the St. Hubert vineyard in Victoria, grass- 
hoppers were so thick on the earth that they rose 
in dense swarms as we walked between the rows 
of vines. It is curious to read that castor oil 
leaves and larkspur are inimical to these insects. 
One farmer destroyed millions by putting down 
straw lor the grasshoppers to lay their eggs in, to 
which he then set tire. The same farmer was 
troubled by an insect, resembling the Jordan louse, 
and he said ; — 
A frieud advised him to strip the trees down to the 
main roots, and to watch the stems carefully. He fol- 
lowed out the suggestion, and soon found out what it 
was that was killing the trees. The little insects came 
put in thouiands, He made inquiriea io order to find 
out a remedy. He tried 3 oz. of sugar of lead, dissolved 
and mixed with a gallon of strong whitewash (ordinary 
lime and water), and, with this mixture, he painted 
the stems of the trees, and the pest was eradicated. 
Our strong belief is that painting with lime alone 
would, in this case, have been effectual. A member 
of the conference referred to the peach blight and 
uttered good commonsense about applying common 
clay to affected trees: — 
A remedy he advocated was to keep the trees warm, 
and to paint the trees in the winter with a composition 
of lime and sulphur. This prevented the birth of the 
aphis in the early spring. Where a tree was badly 
affected, every bud should be brushed with an emulsion. 
For the woolly aphis pest he had heard that some 
gentleman on the Western line had discovered a sure 
remedy. Many nostrums were recommended for this 
pest, including kerosene emulsion. In the old country, 
in his younger days, a simple remedy was used. Clay 
was mixed with water to a fair consistency, and applied 
with a stiff brush to all the knobs which appeared on 
the tree. This was found to answer better than any of 
the expensive compounds now advocated, and he still 
used it. 
Another fruit-grower said: — 
The application of different specifics stayed the pests 
only for a short time, and the best mode of treatment 
was to wash the tree well with soapsuds, and then to 
apply a mixture of boiled oil and sulphur. This paint 
stayed the blight for fully six months in the year. 
Again : — 
Dr. Fiaschi, Richmond, said he had had some experi- 
ence of the woolly aphis blight. An apple-orchard of 
his was so badly affected with it that he never could get 
a crop of fruit. He had tried all the remedies suggested, 
with the exception of liquid clay, proposed by Mr. 
Gelding. Heavy manuring was one of the treatments 
he made use of, but it altogether failed. Last year he 
had intended to have the trees rooted out, and to plant 
the land with vines, when a gentleman gave him a 
bulletin of the Californian State Board of Agriculture, 
wherein was suggested a summer remedy for pears and 
apples. It consists of the following ingredients: 
Caustic soda (98 p.c.) 10 lb., potash 10 lb., tallow 40 lb., 
resin 40 lb. The directions given with the recipe were — 
First: Dissolve the potash and soda in 10 gallons ol 
water, and when dissolved place the solution in a barrel 
(50-gallon measure.) Second : Dissolve the tallow and 
resin together ; when dissolved add the same to the 
potash and soda in the barrel, and stir well for five 
minutes or so. Leave standing for about to hours, then 
fill up with water, stirring well as every bucket of water 
goes in. Use the following day one pint to a gallon of 
water, and apply warm. He tried this specific, spraying 
the trees with it, and he obtained a splendid crop of 
apples. As to oidiuin, he did not think there was any 
cure for it. 
Another expression of opinion was : — 
It was of no use attacking the insect with poisons 
they must stop its breeding. The fine starch mentioned 
by Mr. Patterson would be fatal, and Mr. Pye.had found 
an application of soap mixture successful. 
One gentleman said : — 
Had sprayed the trees with a common syringe, 
with a mixture of unslaked lime and sulphur, three 
parts to one. If slaked lime were used it would be 
necessary to boil it, but by using unslaked lime the 
mixture boiled itself, and thus saved much trouble. It 
proved better than a kerosene emulsion, because 
it killed all the moss which grew upon the trunk of 
the tree. 
As a friendly insect, in addition to the “lady- 
bird,” the mantis, or “ native lady,” was mentioned. 
Again : — 
Mr. Bradbury cautioned the Conference as to the 
use of dangerous poisons as remedies for pests. He 
suggested that, if poisons were resorted to, some steps 
should be taken to prevent the use of arsenic and 
strychnine by ignorant persons, for if only one or 
two were poisoned confidence in Australian fruit would 
be destroyed for years. Scheele's green, which had 
been mentioned, was a preparation of arsenic; and 
