Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-10-18
METEOROLOGICAL.
PRACTICAL EXPERIMENTS VS..
SPECULATIVE THEORIES.
A Review of Certain Remedies and
Reports Heretofore made
The Red Spider, Etc.

Specially prepared for the REcoRD-UNIoN and
WEEKLY UNION by Matthew Cooke
As has already been written, " it Is well
worth the care of anyone who should wish
to be sure las everyone should) of confer
ring benefit upon his fellows, rather than
to risk doing them an injury, to delay the
expression of results of experiments until
the correctness of their results are tested
bv repeated trials. Before advising your
neighbor to adopt certain course or rem
edy, be sure YOU are possessed OF fact
not fancy In other words, before ad-
vising your neighbor to discard an estab-
Gshed remedy, be sure you are possessed of
convincing proof H. e., facts in support of
such recommendation.
Early last spring a series Of experiments
were ordered to be made at the expense of
this Journal, for the purpose Of learning
the best remedy for use in spring ard
summer for the destruction of canller
worms ard other leaf-eating caterpillars in
Testing orchard trees and grapevines, and
also flea beetles and other leaf-eating
beetles: in fact, remedy that could be APP
piled on the fruit and foliage of trees and
vines without injuring them. These ex-
periments were continued for q period Of
four months, and the results of successful
remedies published from time to time.
Among the ingredients used in making
these experiments were whale-oil soap,
sulphur, homemade soft soap, arsenic, blue
stone, potash, borax, caustic soda, buhach,
coal oil, whale oil, and other animal oils.
Until recently the correctness OF the rene
dies published were unquestioned
REVIEWING \ REPORT.
y san Francisco paper, however in It's
report of the recent proceedings of the
Fruit-Growcrs Convention, says: g DR.
Chaplin then read portions of Matthew
Cookies reports upon the efficacy Of buhach,
and then gave his own opinion about it.
He said that the cost OF one spraying of
an orchard Of 500 acres would be $4,000,
buhach costing 10 cents per pound, and the
charge OF spraying enc tree would he
81 %, buhach being mixed at the rate
of one pound to fifteen gallons of water"
1t is supposed from the figures given that
100 trees are allowed to each acre In 600
acres G0000 trees at 50 % each would
amount 10 Sl35,000 The figures given as
to area of orchard and cost Of the nsecti-
eide are formidable, and, to say the least,
may have been the result Of a hasty COM
putation. The purpose of noticing the
statement made BY the State Inspector of
Fruit Pests. giving the results of his ex-
I,,l,
results Published in this journal from time
to time during the months Of April, May,
June and July, is not to exaggerate the
efficacy of this inSecticide, but to keep the
truth to the front in the matter.
TIE REMEDIES AND STATEMENTS
Published in the REcoRD-UNToN as the
results Of careful and repeated experiments
may be given as the best answer to the
very wild remarks of the State Inspector
and said remedies and experiments are as
follows:
For peach aphis, one pound of bu-
bach mixed in ten gallons of water, sprayed
upon peach trees infested, will eti;ectuallv
destroy the aphis, or plant lice Two gal
Ions of this solution will be sufficient for
tree planted ten years ago; cost of solution
per tree, - cents, or SIS per acre.
For CankerWorms and Caterpillars.-l
Experiments were made for the extermina-
ton Of canker-worms at San Lorenzo, Ala
media county The course pursued in
making these experiments may be stated
The solutions used were prepared and APP
piled, under the direction of the writer,
by two fruit-growerS who were interested
in the result, namely, 4. p. Crane and
Mr.. Webb, both Of San Lorenzo:
First-Whale-oi soap and sulphur mix
lure. Gee pound Of the mixture to one
gallon Of water Not efeetire
Secon,l-l}lue stone Claimed by the
owner Of thesreas to be an effective rem
elv) -. various strengths, from one pound
to twenty gallons of water to one pound |
in six quarts of water Worthless.
Third - Arsenic solution dissolved in
potash, one pound to one hundred gallons |
of water Leaves killed; also canker-
worms One pound 10 one hundred and
fifty gallons of water; canker WORMS des- |
troyed, leaves not injured.
Fourth-Buhach, six pounds; alcohol, |
one gallon; water, forty gallons. Canker
worms and caterpilars destroyed effect
ualiv. Cost per gallon, sixteen and one
half cents
Fiith-Whale-oil soap, ten pounds;
buhach, one pound; water, ten gallons. |
Canker-worms efiectuaily destroyed. Cost |
per gallon. eleven cents
81 caterpillars on the trees were de- |
stroyed hy remedies numbers three four
and i've.
In the above experiments, where buhaoh
was used. sheets were spread on the ground,
so that the eject Of the buhach could be
noticed on the cankcr-worms, as it was
thought thcy might recover. Being allowed
To remain until next day the WORKS were
found deed. Ten DAYS after the trees were
SPRAYED. \. p Crane (who is one Of the
Horticultural Commissioners of Alameda
conntv) reported: Visited Mr. Hills |
orchard the trees sprayed with buhach !
and alcohol. and also those sprayed !
with the whale-oil soap and bubach, are ,
perfectly clean Of clnker worius, etc. The |
trees syr1vcd with the whule-oil soap and
huhacl, look much better than any OF the |
others. The trees operated upon were
apple trees and apparently from six to
eight years planted. From three 10 five
quarts OF solution twice to each tree. |
Spray applied ~ Gou'd pump and cy-
clone nozzle.
Grapevine Caterpiliars Early last June !
experiments were made in the vicinity Of
Fresno w Or. Essen, under directions Of
the writer, for destroying the caterpillars
Of the Achemon sphinx moth (PiHqm- |
peiis ieiempal infesting grapevines. The |
caterpillars were successfully brought TO !
the ground by boing SPRAYED with solu- |
ton Of one pound Of buharh in fifteen gal !
Ions Of water. During discussion at the !
convention Of the Viticultural Commission !
then held in Fresno, the writer offered TO
give bonds on a contract to clean over 800
acres of hearing vineyard infested by these
categpillars, for the sum Of - 600, OF about
] cents per vine or less than $40 per
acre, -hc work to be done within ten days
from the time Of commencement.
IN CONCLUSION.
Ii IS not claimed that buhach solutions
are Is cheap rs the arsenical solutions for /
destroying leaf-eatjne insects but there is /
not any danger 70 he apprchended from /
their use when the foliage Of fruit-bearing /
trees and vines are infested by caterpillars
or caIiker worms, or any species Of leaf /
eating beetles.
Orehar'lsts and vine-growers should be .
furnished with reliable information. and +,
not unreliable theories in all matters per !
tanning TO insect pests Of tree or vine, and .