OTHER OILS USED AGAINST THE COTTON WORM. 
163 
ments made by Mr. Schwarz showed that such water does not injure the 
plant, and when liberally applied was sufficient to kill the very young 
worms, but had no effect ou the larger worms. 
Luthy & Marx's insect-powder. — This material, manufactured by 
Lathy & Marx, Philadelphia, might be mentioned in this connection, 
because one of its iugredients, judging from the smell of the powder, 
is tar or some allied substance. A box of the powder was sent by the 
above-named firm to Selma, Ala., in order that it might be tested for 
the Cotton Worm, and it was applied in dry form as well as stirred up 
in water, but had no effect, even on the very young worms. It proved 
equally harmless to the plant 
CARBOLIC ACID. 
The fact that this is so commonly used in the South for the u Screw 
Worm,*' and as a general disinfectant, and that it is not yet employed 
against Aletia, is fair evidence that it has little value in this connec- 
tion. Our own experience in trying it for other worms is that it has 
little effect on the worms when made weak enough to be harmless to 
the plant. Mr. Trelease has experimented with it for the Cotton Worm, 
and we give here his report to Professor Comstock : 
September 10, a number of gallons <>t' water, containing from a half tcaspoonful to 
a tcaspoonful of carbolic ac id per gallon, were applied with a fountain pump. This 
water was stirred ho that the acid was suspended through it as very small globules. 
It was found to kill some caterpillars, but by no means enough to save the cotton; 
and, used in these proportions, it Injured thfl cotton considerably. 
COTTON-SEED OIL. 
Of the various cheap vegetable oils this can be most abundantly and 
easily obtained in the South, where its manufacture is steadily on the 
increase. For this reason it recommended itself for experimentation 
against the Cotton Worm. Like kerosene, it can be emulsified by the 
aid of milk, but, being heavier than kerosene, the two ingredients mix 
less readily and separate easier when diluted with water than in the 
kerosene emulsion. In its action upon the worm it is very similar to 
kerosene, but a larger proportion of the cotton-seed oil is necessary to 
kill the average-sized worms, while in its effect upon the plant it is 
somewhat milder than kerosene. This circumstance renders cotton- 
seed oil (and, in all probability, all heavy vegetable oils) inferior to 
kerosene as an insecticide, at least in regard to this Cotton Worm ques- 
tion, and experiments with it were discontinued as soon as this infe- 
riority was recognized. It occurred to us that by making a soap by 
using this oil and the ashes from cotton-seed hulls, which are so gener- 
ally used for fuel in the manufacture of cotton-seed oil, we might ob- 
tain a liquid that could be sprayed upon the plant with good effect, 
thus, on the principle similia similibus curantur, employing the products 
of the plant itself as an antidote to its worst enemy, these products 
