PROTECTING PLANTS FROM THINGS THAT PREY ON THEM - Continued
(3) Use five gallons of stock solution of copper sulfate for every fifty
gallons of bordeaux required. Pour this into the tank. Add water until
the tank is about two-thirds full. From the stock lime mixture take the
required amount. Knowing the number of pounds of lime in the stock
mixture and the volume of that mixture, one can take out approximately
the number of pounds required. Dilute this a little by adding water, and
strain into the tank. Stir the mixture, and add water to make the
required amount. Experiment stations often recommend the diluting of
both the copper sulfate solution and the lime mixture to one-half the
required amount before pouring together. This is not necessary, and is
often impracticable for commercial work. It is preferable to dilute the
copper sulfate solution. Never pour together the strong stock mixtures
and dilute afterward. Bordeaux mixture of other strengths, as
recommended, is made in the same way, except that the amounts of copper
sulfate and lime are varied.
(4) It is not necessary to weigh the lime in making bordeaux mixture,
for a simple test can be used to determine when enough of a stock lime
mixture has been added. Dissolve an ounce of yellow prussiate of potash
in a pint of water and label it "poison." Cut a V-shaped slit in one
side of the cork so that the liquid may be poured out in drops. Add the
lime mixture to the diluted copper sulfate solution until the
ferro-cyanide (or prussiate) test solution will not turn brown when
dropped from the bottle into the mixture. It is always best to add a
considerable excess of lime.
"Sticker" or adhesive for bordeaux mixture.--Resin, 2 lb.; sal soda
(crystals), 1 lb.; water, 1 gal. Boil until of a clear brown color--one
to one and one-half hours. Cook in iron kettle in the open. Add this
amount to each fifty gallons of bordeaux for onions and cabbage. For
other plants difficult to wet, add this amount to every one hundred
gallons of the mixture. This mixture will prevent the bordeaux from
being washed off by the heaviest rains.
Ammoniacal copper carbonate.--Copper carbonate, 5 oz.; ammonia, 3 pt.;
water, 50 gal. Dilute the ammonia in seven or eight parts of water. Make
a paste of the copper carbonate with a little water. Add the paste to
the diluted ammonia, and stir until dissolved. Add enough water to make
fifty gallons. This mixture loses strength on standing, and therefore
should be made as required. It is used in place of bordeaux when one
wishes to avoid the coloring of maturing fruits or ornamental plants.
Not as effective as bordeaux.
Potassium sulfide.--Potassium sulfide (liver of sulfur), 3 oz.; water,
10 gal. As this mixture loses strength on standing, it should be made
just before using. It is particularly valuable for the powdery mildew of
many plants, especially gooseberry, carnation rust, rose mildew, etc.
Sulfur.--Sulfur has been found to possess considerable value as a
fungicide. The flowers of sulfur may be sprinkled over the plants,
particularly when they are wet. It is most effective in hot, dry
weather. In rose houses it is mixed with half its bulk of lime, and made
into a paste with water. This is painted on the steam pipes. The fumes
destroy mildew on the roses. Mixed with lime, it has proved effective in
the control of onion smut when drilled into the rows with the seed.
Sulfur is not effective against black-rot of grapes.
Treatment for some of the common insects.
The most approved preventive and remedial treatments for such insect
pests as are most likely to menace home grounds and plantations are here
briefly discussed. In case of any unusual difficulty that he cannot
control, the home-maker should take it up with the agricultural
experiment station in the state, sending good specimens of the insect
for identification. He should also have the publications of the station.
The statements that are here made are intended as advice rather than as
directions. They are chosen from good authorities (mostly from
Slingerland and Crosby in this case); but the reader must, of course,
assume his own risk in applying them. The effectiveness of any
recommended treatment depends very largely on the care, thoroughness,
and timeliness with which the work is done; and new methods and
practices are constantly appearing as the result of new investigations.
The dates given in these directions are for New York.
Aphis or plant-louse.--The stock remedies for aphides or plant-lice
are kerosene emulsion and the tobacco preparations. Whale-oil soap is
also good. The tobacco may be applied as a spray, or in the house as
fumigation; the commercial forms of nicotine are excellent. (See page
194.) Be sure to apply the remedy before the leaves have curled and
afford protection for the lice; be sure, also, to hit the underside of
the leaves, where the lice usually are. The presence of lice on trees is
sometimes first discovered from the honey-dew that drops on walks.
Usually the emulsion is diluted with 10-15 parts of water for
plant-lice (see formula, page 194); but some of the species (as the dark
brown cherry-leaf louse) require a stronger emulsion, about 6 parts
of water.
[Illustration: Fig. 234. Lady-bird beetle; larva above]
The lady-birds (one of which is shown in Fig. 234) destroy great numbers
of plant-lice, and their presence should therefore be encouraged.
Apple-maggot or "railroad-worm."--The small white maggots make
brownish winding burrows in the flesh of the fruit, particularly in
summer and early fall varieties. This insect cannot be reached by a
spray as the parent fly inserts her eggs under the skin of the apple.
When full-grown, the maggot leaves the fruit, passes into the ground,
and there transforms inside a tough, leathery case. Tillage has been
found to be of no value as a means of control. The only effective
treatment is to pick up all windfalls every two or three days, and
either to feed them out or to bury them deeply, thus killing
the maggots.
Asparagus beetle.--Clean cultural methods are usually sufficient to
prevent the asparagus beetle's seriously injuring well-established beds.
Young plants require more or less protection. A good grade of arsenate
of lead, 1 lb. to 25 gal. of water, will quickly destroy the grubs on
the foliage of either young or old plants. Apply it with an ordinary
sprinkling can, or better, use one of the numerous spraying devices now
on the market. The necessity for treatment must be determined by the
abundance of the pests. They should not be permitted to become abundant
in midsummer or the over-wintering beetles may injure the shoots in
the spring.
Blister-mite on apple and pear.--The presence of this minute mite is
indicated by small irregular brownish blisters on the leaves. Spray in
late fall or early spring with the lime-sulfur wash, with kerosene
emulsion, diluted with 5 parts of water, or miscible oil, 1 gal. in 10
gal. of water.
Borers.--The only certain remedy for borers is to dig them out, or to
punch them out with a wire. Keep the space about the base of the tree
clean, and watch closely for any sign of borers. The flat-headed borer
of the apple works under the bark on the trunk and larger branches,
particularly where much exposed to sun. The dead and sunken appearance
of the bark indicates its presence. The round-headed borer works in the
wood of apples, quinces, and other trees; it should be hunted for every
spring and fall. On hard land, it is well to dig the earth away from the
base of the tree and fill the space with coal ashes; this will make the
work of examination much easier.
The peach and apricot borer is the larva of a clear-wing moth. The larva
burrows just under the bark near or beneath the surface of the ground;
its presence is indicated by a gummy mass at the base of the tree. Dig
out the borers in June and mound up the trees. At the same time, apply
gas-tar or coal-tar to the trunk from the roots to a foot or more above
the surface of the ground.