KEEP IN MIND THESE SIMPLE FACTS 
WHEN BUYING SPRAY MATERIALS 
The gardener’s medicine chest is amazingly sim¬ 
ple compared with the catalog of human remedies. 
Little is known about controlling plant diseases, 
and the weapons we use against insects have been 
in most cases used since horticulture began. The 
newest insecticide is a vegetable extract whose secret 
was obtained from a tribe of savages. 
If the gardener who is confused about sprays and 
dusts studies these simple facts we have listed in this 
article it will enable him to have sufficient knowl¬ 
edge of the insecticide field to meet most problems 
of pest control. However, it is advisable to consult 
your local seed dealer before making any purchases. 
Sprays, dusts and soil repellents may be divided 
into four general classes. 
1. Fungicides — which may be useless to kill in¬ 
sects, but are used to destroy fungi, mildews and 
similar conditions most of which are usually re¬ 
ferred to as plant diseases. 
2. Contact Poisons — which kill insects with which 
they come in contact when they are being dusted or 
sprayed on plants. 
3. Stomach Poisons — which remain on leaf tis¬ 
sues and poison insects which eat the leaves. 
4. Soil Repellents — which control soil pests and 
other pests that live under the soil during the day 
and come out and feed at night. 
Fungicides 
Fungicides are used against various rusts, wilts, 
and similar diseases which attack trees, shrubs, and 
garden plants. Bordeaux Mixture is the most widely 
used in the garden. It is composed of quicklime and 
copper sulphate. Dusting sulphur, similar to 
flowers of sulphur, but more finely ground, has 
come into favor for black spot on roses, and garden 
mildews. The newest fungicide is really an old one, 
corrosive sublimate or mercuric chloride. It is the 
base of most preparations used to cure brown patch 
on Bent grass. Calomel, the old-fashioned household 
remedy, which is a mercury compound somewhat 
similar, is used for the same purposes, and sold un¬ 
der various trade names. Lime-sulphur is used as a 
fungicide on fruit trees, and does double duty as 
a contact insecticide to kill scale insects, and in 
dilute form to kill red spider in the summer. All of 
the above are obtainable from your local dealer 
under various trade names. 
Contact Insecticides 
Contact insecticides are usually prepared from 
nicotine, pyrethrum, rotenone, or soluble oil, which 
will make an emulsion with water. Sulphur and 
lime-sulphur are used chiefly against scale insects 
and red spider. Nicotine sulphate is a deadly poison 
to animals, and most effective against aphids 
(plant lice). The newest contact materials in sprays 
and dusts, are prepared from vegetable materials 
which kill insects, while doing no harm to animals. 
They are the powdered leaves of a wild species of 
pyrethrum, and rotenone, the extract of derris root, 
which savages use to kill fish. Both substances are 
offered in various dusts and sprays under trade 
names, the materials being old-time remedies, but 
offered in new forms. Rotenone, like nicotine, has 
the advantage of being a stomach poison as well as 
a contact poison. 
Stomach Poisons 
Arsenic is the base of most insecticides used to 
kill insects which eat leaf tissues. As arsenate of 
lead, it remains on the leaves after spraying for the 
longest time. For dusting in the garden Calcium 
Arsenate is preferred by many. Paris Green is used 
in some cases, though much less than in former 
years. Arsenic must always be applied with cau¬ 
tion, and whenever it is applied to portions of a 
plant which are subsequently eaten, it should be 
thoroughly washed away. 
Soil Repellents 
The best known and most easily used soil repel¬ 
lent is crude Naphthalene Flakes. It is worked into 
the soil at the time of planting seed, bulbs or set¬ 
ting out plants. When contacted by the moisture of 
the soil it slowly gives off a gas that either kills or 
repels Wire Worms, Maggots, Snails, Moles and 
many other pests. This material should be applied 
at the time of planting. 
Instructions Must be 
Followed Carefully 
Trade names of all these preparations cannot be 
given in this article, but the information provided 
is sufficient to make it easy for farm and “kitchen” 
gardeners to know just what type of material to 
purchase for the control of insects. All trade prep¬ 
arations have on their labels sufficient information 
to identify the class they belong to and the materials 
used in their preparation. It is far better for gar¬ 
deners to purchase standard manufactured mater¬ 
ials from your local dealer than to attempt to mix 
“special” remedies many times suggested by maga¬ 
zine editors and garden book authors. 
It is important that the directions for the use of 
each preparation shall be carefully studied and fol¬ 
lowed exactly. The success of the remedy may de¬ 
pend on the manner in which it is applied. 
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