Spraying

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

Important: Safety Warning This page contains a formula or preparation using substances now known to be dangerously toxic, such as arsenic, mercury, lead, or cyanide compounds. Exposure to these substances can cause severe poisoning, permanent injury, or death. In addition, 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. This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon. a method of protecting vegetables and fruit trees against injurious insects. A number of liquid sprays are recommended. Some of the best known are: Paris green , 1 pound, water, 250 gallons; blue vitriol, 1 pound, quicksilver, 1 pound, water 12 gallons; white hellebore, 1 pound, water, 50 gallons; kerosene, 2 gallons, water, 1 gallon, hard soap, 1/2 pound. Various methods of application have been employed. A long whisk broom, a knapsack fire extinguisher, a pail force-pump, a garden barrel-pump, a two-horse field tank with a pump driven by cog wheels, and finally, in large orchards where thousands of dollars' worth of fruit are dependent on the extermination of insects, a huge tank with a steam pump may be found in use. In all these cases the operator is able to direct the spray through a nozzle as in sprinkling lawns. Insects wage perpetual warfare with fruit raising, but American ingenuity is equal to the emergency. See Scale; Insect