i6o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 2? 
Ruralisms ; 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS 
Gas Fumigation for White Fly.— 
The “white fly,” a minute tropical scale 
insect, has become a serious pest in 
many greenhouses devoted to vegetables 
or soft-leaved bedding plants. It is par¬ 
ticularly troublesome to growers of to¬ 
matoes, geraniums, and Begonias. The 
adult “fly” is a tiny milk-white winged 
insect, while the larval and intermediate 
stages are passed in the form of trans¬ 
lucent imperfect scales fixed in large 
colonies to the underside of broad green 
leaves, usually in the darkest portions 
of the glasshouse. The winged adults 
live for several weeks collecting in great 
numbers on the under surfaces of the 
leaves, probably feeding on the juices, 
and causing the foliage eventually to 
shrivel up. When disturbed they fly out 
in a jerky, irregular way but quickly 
settle again. Both old and young co¬ 
piously secrete a sticky, honey-like 
liquid, covering fruit and foliage and 
encouraging the growth of dark-colored 
molds or fungi which greatly disfigure 
and weaken the plants. The white fly 
in any stage is quite resistant to such 
insecticides as may safely be used on 
tender glasshouse plants. No spraying 
solution yet tested has any perceptible 
effect on the pest when used in strengths 
endurable by the foliage. Copious fumi¬ 
gation with tobacco smoke stupefies the 
adults and brings them to the ground, 
but most individuals recover in a few 
hours. If repeated for several nights in 
succession up to the limits of the en¬ 
durance of the plants some of the weak¬ 
er ones will be disposed of, but this 
remedy cannot be considered very satis¬ 
factory. Hydrocyanic gas, however, is 
very fatal to this insect as it is to all 
forms of animal life, and is now fre¬ 
quently resorted to by those troubled 
with the pest. 
On the Rural Grounds. —The white 
fly was first noticed in the Rural 
Grounds glasshouse four years ago on 
some plants newly received from a 
Florida nursery. It gave but little trou¬ 
ble at first but has latterly become such 
a nuisance that recourse was had to cy¬ 
anide fumigation with most satisfactory 
results so far as disposing of the adults 
is concerned. While plant tissues are 
not injuriously affected by hydrocyanic 
gas to the same extent as animal life, 
the gas cannot be used among green¬ 
house plants in the same concentration 
as ordinarily recommended for dormant 
trees and nursery stock. One ounce of 
cyanide of potash and 1% ounce of sul¬ 
phuric acid is usually allowed for each 
200 cubic feet of air space for that pur¬ 
pose, but would likely make havoc in a 
greenhouse. A further complication is 
caused by the tendency of hydrocyanic 
gas, being lighter than air, to bank near 
the glass about tall plants before diffu¬ 
sion is equalized. For these reasons we 
reduced the cyanide to one ounce to 2,000 
cubic feet of space. The greenhouse is 
10x24 feet inside, and averages eight feet 
high after making allowance for the 
slope of the roof, thus giving about 3,072 
cubic feet. Accordingly 1 y 2 ounce cya¬ 
nide was weighed out, divided in two 
equal portions, tied up separately in two 
thicknesses of newspaper. About three 
ounces of water was poured in each of 
two ordinary two-quart glass fruit jars 
and one ounce of sulphuric acid slowly 
poured in each can. When ready the 
cans of dilute acid were placed on the 
floor at opposite ends of the greenhouse 
and the packages of cyanide dropped in 
by hand, taking care to finish with the 
can nearest the door, the house instant¬ 
ly vacated and closed for the night. 
Next morning the house was cautiously 
ventilated by opening door and venti¬ 
lators from the outside before entering, 
but of course no trace of the very diffu¬ 
sible gas could be detected after the 
nine hours’ interval. There was abso¬ 
lutely no injury to the plants, but dead 
flies covered the floor like a miniature 
snowstorm. One or two live ones were 
noticed during the course of the day, 
and the fumigation was therefore re¬ 
peated using the same quantities of the 
chemicals. About all aphids and red 
spiders that could be found had also 
succumbed to the deadly gas. The eggs 
and young of these pests as well as those 
of the white fly are known to be more 
resistant than the adults, and it is like¬ 
ly the fumigation must be repeated 
within 10 to 12 days. The cost of the 
two treatments at local drug store prices 
was 20 cents, surely an economical 
means of controlling a difficult pest. 
Hydrocyanic gas must always be used 
with caution, as it kills humans as read¬ 
ily as insects, but it is likely to be of 
great utility in glasshouse cultures as 
soon as the best proportions for various 
plants, insects and structures are thor¬ 
oughly worked out. We can probably 
safely use it much stronger than one 
ounce to 2,000 feet, only one-tenth the 
concentration advised for nursery fumi¬ 
gation, with much greater lethal effect 
on insects, but it pays best to go slow 
when dealing with a houseful of tender 
plants at this season. Owing to pecu¬ 
liarities of the grade the Rural Grounds’ 
glasshouse is attached to a dwelling, a 
form of construction we do not recom¬ 
mend where avoidable, so it seemed 
good discretion to vacate the premises 
for several hours during the fumigation 
and carefully ventilate both buildings 
from the outside before entering. When 
fumigating detached greenhouses this 
bother is avoided. w. v. f. 
Cross-Fertilizing Grapes. 
L. IF., Lutherville, Ark.— I have a few 
seedling grapes which I would like to 
cross with some other kind. What is the 
best way to put the pollen on the blos¬ 
soms? How old can the pollen be to have 
a good result, and how would you put 
it on? 
Ans. —The bare finger is the best 
means of applying the pollen, or trans¬ 
ferring it from one flower to another. 
Pry off the caps from the little blooms 
of the grape you wish to seed just be¬ 
fore they open and pick out the stamens 
with a knife blade or fine pair of scis¬ 
sors, then shake off the pollen from the 
selected flowers in a watch glass or dry 
teaspoon. Take it up on the tip of a 
finger and touch it on the flowers you 
wish to cross, when the stigmas becomes 
moist and sticky. The pollen can be 
reserved in dry bottles well corked for 
several months, but it is best to use it 
as soon as possible. Good results are 
sometimes had by merely shaking or 
tapping the pollen blossoms over the 
others with which you wish to cross, let¬ 
ting the pollen dust settle down in the 
selected blossoms. 
IJSfCffBSTER 
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all, dealers sell winchester make of cartridges. 
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Y 
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