Pttrta of Castor-Bean Plants Tested as Inseoticldes 
Deceotlon and juioe of plant .— A decoction of the leaves was 
used to destroy aphids and other insects.— Carri We and Andre' (16) • 
Jtd.o« from the leaves and gresn pods had only a slight effect 
on honeybees.— Uolndoo and Sievers (S3, p« 9)« 
The sap killed beetles (Cleonu s) Bothynoderes puncttventrla 
(Gem*) in RujBanla*— Qrinberg 
mien nevly hatohed grasshoppers vere confined in screened cages 
over young, suooulflnt planta, half of them were dead at the end of 
48 hours, one-fourth nore in 72 hours, and the reioainder in 96 hours* 
Only slight feeding was done on the plants.— Ssiith (44, p. "^66) » 
Brtraots of feeds and leaves. — Aa alcobollo extract of castor* 
bean seeds, iriien reasonably strong and used with so&p, was inef- 
ficient against three species of aphids, and whm fod to silkworms 
without soap it had no effect on then. A benzene extract of the seeds, 
when exceedingly strong and used with soap, was efficient against 
one of these aphids, but the control aixtxire killed half us many.— 
Mclndoo and Sievers (38 , p. 9). 
Water and acetone extracts of the seeds and leaves killed less 
than 50 percent of the mosquito larvae tested and were not toxic to 
grasshoppers.— Hartsell and Wilcoxon (26, p. 136). 
Ricin, a toxic protein, and rioinine, aa alkaloid, are known to 
ooour in the seeds as well as other parts of the oastor-bean plant. 
Ihile it is known that both these oompounds are poisonous to rex^e- 
brates, little is known of their effect on insects. In tests by Pales 
a 1-percent solution of riein in water caused no mortality of flies, 
and a 1-peroent solution of rioinine in acetone oansdd only l-perosnt 
Bortallty»~Haller and Holndoo (25)» 
Grasshoppers fed for 7 days on irtieat plants dusted with rloia 
wor« not appreciably affected, although their bodies beoane covered 
with the irtilte powder. Preparations of rloln and rioinine, incor-^ 
porated in bran-nash baits and fed to grasshoppers, also showed no 
toxicity lAatever. Ihe utility of the oastor-besn plant as an 
insecticide awaits the proper cheoloal methods of extracting the 
speoiflo toxin for lns«ots»-~Hartiell and Wilcoxon ( 26 , p* 138). 
Rloin and rioinine were tested against oodling moth larvae by 
tiie apple-plug method. These materials were used at the rate of 
4 pounds per 100 gallons of water or water containing 20 percent 
of alcohol. Following the applloation of ricin 98 percent of 101 
plugs, and of rioinine 1 percent of 98 plugs, were wormy and none 
were stung. Of 95 plugs treated with lead arsenate at the same 
