REMEDIES AND PREVENTIVES. Ill 
MEANS AGAINST THE CICADA IN US UNDERGROUND LIFE. 
While it is probably true, as we have already stated, that the Cieada 
in its underground life does not work any serious injury to plants on 
account of the very insignificant amount of nutriment which it annu- 
ally draws from the rootlets, nevertheless in exceptional cases where 
the ground is suspected of being very thickly populated with the larvae 
and pupa' of this insect it may be deemed desirable to undertake their 
extermination. This may be accomplished, as suggested, by using the 
remedies ordinarily employed against other subterranean insects, such 
as the Phylloxera and the apple-root plant louse, with this difference, 
that the poisons will have to be introduced more deeply in the soil 
unless applied in the first or second year after the larva- have begun 
their development. 
If taken in time, the number of the larva 1 in the soil may be greatly 
reduced by cutting oft* the branches of the trees which have been thickly 
oviposited in, thus preventing the hatching of the eggs. It will rarely, 
however, be possible to so completely eliminate the eggs from the tree as 
to prevent the entrance of the larva' into the soil in considerable numl >ers. 
Of the means employed against subterranean insects two are espe- 
cially suitable for the destruction of the larva' and pupae of the Cicada — 
namely, bisulphide of carbon injected into the ground and tobacco 
dust incorporated in the soil. 
Tobacco dust has a manurial value and is not at all injurious to 
plants. Its value against Cicada larva' is purely theoretical, but there 
is little doubt but that if it can be incorporated in the soil some dis- 
tance below the surface — namely, by first removing 6 inches or more of 
the top soil — it will effect the destruction of many of the delicate larvae 
and pupae of the Cicada 1 . This dust is a waste product of tobacco 
factories and costs about 1 cent per pound, and is worth nearly its cost 
as a fertilizer. 
Bisulphide of carbon, the popular French remedy for the grape root 
louse, will undoubtedly prove an efficient means against the Cicada in 
its underground life. It will be necessary, however, except in the first 
year or two of the existence of the larva 1 , to inject it to a depth of at 
least 12 inches below the surface. It should not be introduced into the 
soil closer than 1.] feet to the crown of young plants, and nor more than 
an ounce of the chemical should be introduced into each hole, which 
should be immediately closed. An injection should be made to about 
every square yard of surface. The bisulphide rapidly evaporates and 
penetrates throughout the soil, and is very deadly to insects. It is 
highly inflammable, and should not, therefore, be poured from one ves- 
sel to another near a lire. It may be introduced into the soil by means 
of the French injecting machines, or a similar automatic device known 
as the McGowan Injector, manufactured at Ithaca, N. V. This treat- 
ment is not expensive, and will be valuable for orchards, small groves, 
or private grounds. 
1*0110 — No. 14 8 
