The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-06-26
Tobacco SPRAYS

Professor A. l.. Melander, entomolo-
sist of tho state experiment station,
gives the following information about
tobacco sprays:
For such insects as do not actually
chew and swallow particles of leaf
matter; in this class. particularly the
various species of aphis there is no
better spray than the tobacco prepa-
rations. The sprays may be made at
home by sleeping cheap tobacco with
water from thirty minutes to one
hour. The decoction should not be
boiled, but kept Just under the boil
Ing point. Tobacco scraps may be
used in making this decoction at the
rate of one pound of leaves to every
four gallons of final dilution, or two
pounds of stems to make the same
amount
Extracts of tobacco are now on the
market which do away with the trou-
bic OF preparing the decoction They
are highly concentrated and should be
used according to the directions on
the containers. The best known of
these Is now sold in Washington by
the carload and is product of the
y v.
1t Is known as BLACK leaf" and may
be used one part added to from sixty
five to one hundred parts of water.
The black leaf Is a thick. slrupy.
black substance which may soil the
fruit. A new form of the spray is
called "black leaf 40" This is nico-
tine sulphate and Is so concentrated
that it will go ten times as far as the
old black leaf At this dilution it does
not stain the fruit and. therefore, may
be used on fruit about to be harvested
and on vegetables such as lettuce.
peas. etc.
Any tobacco spray has its effect
greatly increased by the addition of
soap Soaps made OF cresylic acid,
sold on the market as ''lyso" or "cre-
SOL" have the property of liberating
nicotine. If they are added to the to-
bacco sprays they will permit a great.
er dilution of the tobacco However
in the case of black leaf 40, which is
nearly pure nicotine, they are no more
valuable than ordinary soaps. Fish
oil soap, whale oil soap, common laun-
dry soap, or even washing powders
may be used in combination with the
tobacco sprays at the rate of about
one pound of soap to every fifteen GAL
Ions of spray. Most insects have a
greasy body, The tobacco spray
should wet them in order to kill them
water spray will not adhere TO the
insects body, but the addition Of the
soap markes the spray adhesive and
also makes 1t have greater penetraJ
ton.
The tobacco spray Is particularly
adapted as summer spray 1t is ex-
tremely valuable for all kinds of
aphis,. including those species affect
ing house plants. The woody aphis,
black cherry aphis. the various species
of green aphis, the leaf hopper, red
spiders, flea beetles and the young OF
scale insects. all can be controlled by
this spray. This markes probably the
best spray for oyster shell bark louise
and should be given for that insect as
soon as the young hatch, which is usu-
ally about the first of June.
Although primarily a contact spray.
the tobacco Kills partly by suffocatlon.
For this reason il surpasses the other
contact sprays Ike Kerosene emulsion
Or whale oil soap. After an aphis has
curled lear 1t 4, dfiieult to control il
with Kerosene emulsion. for the curied
leaf keeps the spray from touching
the aphs body. \ drop of tobacco
spray, however, in the leaf will give