[ 338 ] T8 
1. Always dilute the poison with at least ten times its bulk of 
flour. 
2. Apply it to the plants when wet with rain or dew. 
3. Never entrust its use to young or careless persons. 
4. Never use it near the house where young children resort. 
5. Apply it with a gauze bag or some other sifter, attached to 
the end of a pole. 
6. Let the operator always keep upon the side from which the 
wind is blowing. 
7. Do not apply it to any plant where it will come in contact 
with the fruit. 
Eelore closing this article I wish to call the attention of agricul¬ 
turists to the practicability of substituting arsenious acid, or the 
white powdered arsenic of commerce, for the Paris-green, for the 
destruction of noxious insects. The simple arsenic is a lighter 
substance than Paris green, that is more bulky for the same weight, 
and would, therefore, go farther, pound for pound ; its white color 
would render^he extent of its application more easily visible on 
the green foliage, and its cost is less than one-quarter of that of 
Paris-green, the wholesale price of the latter being about forty 
cents a pound, whilst the price of arsenic is only about eight cents. 
If, as is generally supposed, the efficacy of Paris-green in destroy¬ 
ing insect life depends wholly upon the arsenic in its composition, 
there seems to be no reason why the simpler and cheaper article 
should not be substituted for it. This matter was brought to my 
notice by an intelligent druggist, but too late in the season to put 
it to the test of actual experience, and I would here call attention 
to it as a matter well worthy of future consideration and experi¬ 
ment. 
It is proper to add here, that with regard to this whole matter 
of using violent poisons to destroy insects, some judicious persons 
take strong ground against it; arguing that if the use of such dan¬ 
gerous substances becomes common, they will almost unavoidably 
fall into the hands of some young and careless persons, and that 
some valuable lives will be lost. The argument is a weighty one, 
and shows the necessity of great caution in the use of such arti¬ 
cles, if not their total abandonment. It is my desire, in this re¬ 
port, to state, as far as possible, all the known facts bearing upon 
the case, and then leave it to the judgment of each one to deter¬ 
mine for himself whether to use them or not. 
