6o 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
a,ll the workman will have to do will be to empty the package 
into the generator after having placed it under the box. He 
should be provided with two measures, one for the acid and 
one for water. The acid and water should be pat into the 
generator before the latter is placed under the box. As soon 
as the potassium cyanide is dropped into the generator the 
hole under the box should be closed with a short piece of 
board and banked with dirt. It is best to run the generators 
during cloudy days, or during early morning and late in the 
afternoon. The gas should be allowed to act for one hour. 
DIPPING STOCK. 
“As Parsons & Sons Nursery Co., follow the plan practiced 
by some nurserymen of digging their stock only as needed to 
fill orders, some plan, which would be as cheap and more con¬ 
venient for small lots of trees than the gas treatment, had to 
be devised. Dipping the trees in a solution of whale oil soap 
appeared feasible and harmless to the trees. For this purpose 
a tank, the dimensions of which are here given, was made. 
This nursery haul their stock to one packing house to pack, 
hence it was an easy matter to dip the stock before packing 
and the principal cost by this method of treatment was the 
tank and soap. The tank was made of galvanized iron and 
cost $9.00. It is approximately 8x2x1 feet, and will hold a 
trifle over 94 gallons. It was found more convenient to only 
use from 60 to 70 gallons of the mixture at a time. Whale oil 
soap costs 6^2 cents per pound in half barrel (200 lb.) quanti¬ 
ties in New York city. 
“C. L. Marlatt in his report on experiments with winter 
washes against the San Jose scale says : Whale oil soap 
washes, even at three pounds to the gallon are thin enough 
when cool to be sprayed without difficulty and no trouble 
whatever was experienced with one and one-half and two 
pounds to the gallon. 
“There must be a difference in the whale oil soap manufac¬ 
tured by different firms. It was found that two pounds of the 
soap, obtained in New York city, added to a gallon of water 
had to be kept at a temperature of about eighty degrees to 
work well, and, if allowed to cool below sixty degrees it formed 
a very thick soft soap. It had to be scooped out of the tank 
into a kettle each morning and remelted, after which it was 
kept warm by placing an ordinary oil stove under the tank. 
“ Parsons & Sons Nursery Co. have only used this tank since 
November loth, and none of the treated stock has been in¬ 
spected. From the tests made of whale oil soap by the United 
States Division of Entomology near Riverside, Maryland ; also, 
from those made during the fall in the nursery of Keene & 
Foulk at Flushing, it is quite evident that a whale oil soap 
solution made by dissolving two pounds of the soap in a gallon 
of water, will kill all the pernicious scale insects, if thoroughly 
applied, and not injure the trees. Hence, failure by the pro¬ 
cess of dipping must be the result of careless work. 
, SUMMARY. 
“With the exception of whale oil soap none of the winter 
washes have proven successful in the tests made by the United 
States Division of Entomology. It was also proven by these 
tests that none of the washes were as effective when applied in 
winter as when applied during the fall. Fairly good results 
have been obtained at the Florida Experiment Station from 
the use of resin wash. In this section of the country winter is 
not only a disagreeable time to apply the washes, but rains are 
liable to remove them before they have time to act on the 
dormant scale insects. Hence, the only conclusion that can 
be drawn is that better results will be obtained by applying 
winter washes during the fall ; that winter’ washes applied in 
winter are liable to be a waste of time. Also, that the simplest 
remedy, viz., whale oil soap, makes the best wash for general 
use. 
“ In order that any wash may prove a success when applied 
to nursery stock for the pernicious scale it is absolutely neces¬ 
sary to remove the dirt around the crown and apply the wash 
thoroughly from buds down to the roots. This is especially 
true for all stock which is budded, grafted or grown from cut¬ 
tings. Hence, for nursery stock the wash must be applied 
during the fall or early spring. It is recommended that the 
wash be applied during fall in preference to spring, as the 
pernicious scale is active during the fall and more susceptible 
than during the spring. 
“It should be remembered that whale oil soap solution is 
more difficult to apply than other washes unless applied during 
warm weather. By spraying the tops of the trees with 4 sum¬ 
mer wash at intervals of five days during July, possibly whale 
oil soap solution could be used to an advantage on the trunk 
of the trees during the summer. 
“All things considered, the gas treatment is the simplest and 
cheapest remedy that many nurserymen can use. As far as 
tested on nursery stock here on Long Island it has given as 
good results as any of the other remedies. 
“ For nurserymen who dig their stock only as the orders are 
filled, probably the dipping of the stock in a solution of whale 
oil soap will prove the simplest and cheapest remedy. 
OTHER INSECTS. 
“The oyster-shell bark-louse and the euonymus scale can be 
controlled by summer washes. If the latter are applied often 
enough and thoroughly at the right season, viz., from the rst 
of June to the ist of July for the oyster-shell bark-louse and 
from the 20th of June to the 20th of July for the euonymus 
scale, these pests can be exterminated. 
“Linseed oil is not a safe remedy to use at any season on 
peach trees, and should be carefully tested on all plants with 
thin bark before being recommended for general use against 
scale insects. As far as tested it is the most effective remedy 
for scale insects during their dormant condition. Mr. Foulk 
thinks it can be safely applied to apple and pear trees, except¬ 
ing the young twigs, at any season or stage of growth, and if 
applied to the old scales during the winter no young will ever 
issue. 
“The experience of Keene & Foulk demonstrates that 
kerosene emulsion, dilated with three parts water, applied even 
in winter is very unsafe and by no means certain in its results. 
In the tests made by the United States Division of Entomo¬ 
logy only pure kerosene emulsion killed all the pernicious 
scales. It also killed the trees. 
“Poor results from the use of kerosene emulsion often 
occur, which can be traced to some slight detail in its manu¬ 
facture, such as too much lime in the soap or in the water 
used, or to improper emulsifying. Hence the above results 
are given simply as they occurred and not to condemn kero¬ 
sene emulsion for all purposes. 
“Crude petroleum emulsion is more expensive than kerosene 
emulsion. It will be a more dangerous remedy to use than 
kerosene emulsion. 
