Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-05-27

stt MELON APHlS.
eoOn the melon aphis VIII appear on
sSs Tssas coast, and in thirty days
'ns ,he whole state will be suffering
tlinc his pest. The following from the
il olii Farmer will be read with in
Ia by melon growers;
te1 e. most serious disease with which
.,s melon growers OF Florida have TO
rsrtend il that produced by the plant
~. HS rreen bug about one-sixteenth of
es'e1 ,eh long, which infests the lower
sn.sacsa OF the melon leaves, variously
fui.iiny and comforting them, and fire.
eu.atiy seriously reducing the vitality
va rroductiveness OF the plants The
~, sometimes runs through an entire
bsstch. and II unchecked VIII almost to-
,slly destroy II, il y not only the mel
growers OF Florida that suffer from
~ W. nest but also those OF South Caro-
W., .s Georgia and all Southern states.
Hi TSe same louise also attacks the cot
,,a nlant. the young tender growth OF
NJ arrange and some other plants. The
,amedy given here for the melon plant
,o,,se will answer equally well for tho
,reatment of the same louise on these
other plants.
a treating this pest at Eustis, Grand
,a,srd Gainesville and Ocala, and have
samnd n resin soap spray maze from
.ssin and sal soda. to be very effective
n cpnbattlng II. This is very cheap,
1asily made handy and effective; and
Il one is unfortunate In being bothered
viii the melon louise they cannot long
tr complain Of the remedy, or lack Of
The resin soap is prepared as fol-
lows:
Resin. ...............S pounds
sal soda Ccrystalllne) ......,..4 pounds
Water to make................5 gallons
Place the resin aud sal yods IN "A
comparatively large kettle with one
ouart Of water. Boil, meanwhile stir
fing brlskly, til! the resin and sal soda
he thoroughly melted together and
form a frothy mixture without Jumps.
Now add four gallons OF cold water,
mourning 1t In rather slowly with short
Intervals between to avoid chilling
the mixture too suddenly. when all
the water Is added. bring to a boil.
pour out the hot solution, strainlng
through coarse cloth, and add suf-
feient water to make five gallons OF
The solution. This, II correctly made.
forms thick syrupy solution OF a
dark brown translucent color, which
may be preserved as stock prepara-
ton
For use. dilute the whole formula to
fifty gallons, or in the proportion OF
one part Of the stock solution to nine
parts OF water Always thoroughly
stir the stock solution before measuring
out to dilute.
The cost Of this wash based on prices
quoted by Jacksonville and New York
firms is only about one sixth of
cent per gallon as diluted. The mix
Ing Of the formula for i've gallons OF
the stocl; solutions according to the
directions given above usually requires
about twenty-five minutes. Much time
can be saved by mixing Il larger guam
tlty at once.
The materials for preparing this
wash can usually be obtained in small
quantities In any town, but retail prices
nre far too high If the spray is to be
extensively used
The resin soap, when diluted ready
for application, forms a dirty brownish
white mixture. 1t should be applied
TO the plants as a fine spray. The
handlest apparatus for making the APP
plcatlon Is n knapsack spray pump
with vermorel nozzle. The spray
should not be thrown down on to the
plants, as this VIII not hit the pests.
The nozzle must be turned to one
side, giving the spray n horizontal d.
rection. The spray rod can then be
placed against or near the plant and
TIE force Of the spray In n horizontal
direction turns the leaves and satu-
rates the lower surfaces where the lit
Tie pests are located. The plant louise
70 be Killed must be thoroughly wet
Al truck gardeners should be sup
piled with a knapsaclS spray pump
and Il would be well to keep the ma
terlals on hand for preparing this
flffF. II Is also n pnnI f,r
the red spider and certain scale in
gepts