1 Juz, 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 453 
‘dusting sulphur over the affected parts. The sun volatilises it, and the fumes 
cause the fungus to curl up and die. 
For boring insects different methods are adopted ; one is to remove all the 
loose bark on the trunk and branches after pruning, and to apply a wash of 
tar, grease, kerosene emulsion, phenyl, or any other solution that would cause 
the flavour of the bark to be unpalatable to the insect before it enters the 
plant. A poison added to the wash should make the application still more 
effective. Care must be taken to have all cracks and crevices covered with 
the application or it will be of little value, as the insect would soon find out 
any clean spot. A wash of lime, sulphur, and salt is very efficacious, not only 
in keeping away borers, but also in preventing the appearance of many fungus 
pests. It is one of the best remedies for the San José scale of the apple. 
Borers may often be killed when in the grub stage by shoving a fine pliable 
wire into their burrows, or by injecting a small quantity of turpentine or 
kerosene into the hole and then plugging it up with a piece of soft clay. 
The cyaniding process for destroying scale and other insects is a most 
efficacious method, as the gas searches out the most remote corners, and if 
used sufficiently strong no insect can live in it. In California this method 
has been taken up almost entirely, and the sprays are being left alone. The 
tree is covered with a sheet or tent of some close material (Canadian duck is 
used by the Department of Agriculture, and is considered by the fruit experts 
to be the best material for this purpose). Hydrocyanic gas is then generated 
in the tent with sulphuric acid and cyanide of potassium. According to Mr. 
Benson, in the Agricultural Journal, Vol. IV., Part 4, the best strength to be 
used is made up of 1 oz. of cyanide, 8 oz. of water, and 1 oz. of sulphuric 
acid to every 300 cubic feet of space taken up by the tree. Care must be taken 
not to make the gas too strong, or injury to the trees will be the result. Some 
scale require stronger treatment than others. Mangoes will stand the gas very 
strong, and the gas then destroys the eggs as well as the insects themselves. 
_ In spraying plants there are three points to remember :— 
1. Spray as soon as a disease or Peay is noticed; every delay is to the 
advantage of the pest. The killing of the insect at this period may mean the 
prevention of hundreds, and prompt applications may mean the destruction of 
millions of fungi spores. ; 
2. Be aoe When spraying, spray thoroughly. As I said before, it 
as no good making an application if it is not done properly and thoroughly. 
3. Be intelligent in your spraying. Think what you are going todo. The 
grower must know the cause of a disease, and then find out the best method of 
stopping it. 4 
Before spraying a crop it must first be calculated whether the increased 
crop of sound fruit will cover the expenses of buying the materials and mixing 
and applying the spray. ‘There are many efficacious sprays that it would not 
pay to use owing to their cost. The fruit-grower knows the price a crop of 
inferior quality brings, and also the price given for perfect or fancy crops. 
The difference between the two shows to what extent the crop benefits by 
treatment. Proper treatment must produce good results. Remember, the 
arsenite sprays will destroy gnawing insects with hardly an exception, and the 
copper solutions will prevent attacks from most fungi. 
A CURE FOR EARACHE. 
Procure an ordinary clay Pipe, and insert a wad of cotton wool in the bowl, 
then drop six or eight minims of chloroform on to the wool, and cover with a 
similar wad. Insert the pipe stem just within the ear passage, and gently blow 
down the bowl of the pipe. The results are often quite wonderful. Sometimes 
it is sufficient to drop a few drops of chloroform on to a handkerchief and apply 
the latter to the affected ear, or drop the chloroform on to a wad of cotton wool, 
which should be loosely packed into the ear passage. 
