Important: Safety Warning
This page recommends pest-control substances such as arsenic compounds, strychnine, or cyanide — in some cases applied to food crops. These substances are lethal to humans and animals, and their use is now banned or strictly controlled.
In addition, this page directs the use of hazardous substances — such as benzine, gasoline, lye, or strong acids — for household tasks. These materials are highly flammable, corrosive, or poisonous, and the practices described have caused fires, burns, and poisonings.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Home › The Flower And Kitchen Garden › To Remedy American Blight
To Remedy American Blight
Take 1/2 peck quicklime, 1/2 pound flowers of sulphur, and 1/4 pound lampblack. Mix with boiling water, enough to form a thick paint.
With this, in the winter, when the leaves are off, paint the branches, having first removed all loose bark. In doing this, be sure to reparts with a decoction of elder leaves. But the most effectual remedy is flowers of sulphur dusted over the foliage, by means of a dredging-box with very fine holes.