208 
4 
Gardeners and Florists’ Annual for t9tS 
Weeds, Control of. — Generally speaking, the fewer weeds, the 
larger the crops, and the less nutriment extracted from the soil. Weeds 
in pasture, or in land, or gardens, can be eradicated by preventing them 
from seeding, by hoeing or scarifying, sometimes by spraying poisons 
on them or injecting poisons into their roots, as in the case of Dande- 
lions and on lawns. There is a special injecting instrument, somewhat 
like a syringe with a sharp point, into which poison is filled, and an 
injection of this is rapidly made into the heart of the plant and a large 
part of the lawn can be covered very quickly. Rotation of crops and 
digging are other means of keeping land free from weeds. 
Weed Killers. — A newsletter issued by the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, Sept. 23, 1914, points out that experiments have been 
made at Arlington Farm, to find the best material, the best strength 
of application, and other points in regard to weed killers. The list 
of materials suggested includes the following: * Arsenite of soda; arse- 
nate of soda; common salt; fuel oil; kerosene; gasoline; crude petro- 
leum; sulphuric acid; coal-tar creosote oil; iron sulphate; caustic soda, 
and other things. The tests showed that of these arsenite of soda, com- 
mon salt, and fuel oil were the best; the prices being respectively 25c. 
per poimd, $12 per ton, and 12c. per gallon. As to the number of ap- 
plications required, it has been found that several light applications 
are better than one heavy one. The quantity of these weed killers to 
use depends on the character of the vegetation and the soil. On some 
of the arsenite of soda plots, where the vegetation was largely broad 
leaved plants, the tops had been practically killed by a light applica- 
tion, at a cost of $1.50 an acre. The amounts given on a test of one 
square rod are: pound of commercial arsenite of soda dissolved 
in 6 gallons of water; 22 gallons of common coarse salt, dissolved in 9 
gallons of water, or one gallon of fuel oil. All these applications 
would cost approximately 12c. per square rod or $20 per acre for the 
materials. All applications should be made when there is no prospect 
of rain for 24 hours. 
Whitewasli. — This is made by slaking about 10 lbs. of quicklime 
with 2 gals, of water. The lime is placed in a pail and the water 
poured over it, after which the pail is covered with an old piece of 
carpet or cloth and allowed to stand for about an hour. With an 
insuflScient amount of water, the lime is “scorched” and not all con- 
verted into hydrate; on the other hand, too much water retards the 
slaking by lowering the heat. “Scorched” lime is generally lumpy and 
transparent, hence the use of the proper amount of water for slaking 
and an after addition of water to bring it to a brush consistency. 
A weatherproof whitewash for exterior surfaces may be made as 
follows: (1) Slake 1 bushel of quicklime in 12 gals, of hot water; 
(2) dissolve 2 lbs. of common salt and 1 lb. of sulphate of zinc in 
2 gals, of boiling water; pour (2) into (1), then add 2 gals, of skim 
milk and mix thoroughly. Whitewash is spread with a broad brush. 
White Fly, Using Potassium Cyanide Against. — According 
to circular No. 154, published by the Ohio Agricultural Experiment 
Station, the white fly, also called the mealy wing or snowy fly (Aley- 
rodes vapivarium), is not easily killed by the usual means of fumi- 
gating or spraying. It is a well known pest of greenhouse plants, in 
fact one of the worst, and attacks a host of kinds. The circular advises 
