"For use against plant lice add to one cup of this emulsion 8 cups of water. For scale insects dilute with four cups of water.
BORDEAUX MIXTURE
| I. Copper sulphate (blue vitriol) | 1 lb. |
| Water | 1 gal. |
| Dissolve the sulphate in the water. | |
| II. Slaked lime | 1 lb. |
| Water | 1 gal. |
| Dissolve the lime in the water. | |
To one bucket (2½ gallons) of fresh water add four pints of the first solution. To another bucket of fresh water add six pints of the second solution.
Stir these together. Keep the rest of the solutions I. and II. for later mixing when it is needed.
WHALE OIL SOAP HOT WATER SOLUTION
| Whale oil soap | 1 pound |
| Hot water | 6 quarts |
This is the right dilution for plant lice but for scale insects it is too weak; for them use about two quarts of water to one pound of soap.
"The best way to apply liquid sprays in small gardens is to use a whisk broom. Just dip the little broom into the mixture needed and shake the brush over the plant. Then the hands need never come in contact with the poison. Careful children can use sprays without any trouble. Josephine has used kerosene emulsion in this fashion: she pours a little into a saucer, takes a bit of cheese cloth and dipping it into the emulsion wipes the lice off an infested part. Usually one application is enough. This sounds like a much more disagreeable task than it really is. A plant syringe may be used. But personally I like the hand method. Of course if there are lots of lice on many plants this would not be practical at all.
"It stands to reason that sick plants need medicines of some kind. Sometimes to be sure they need better living conditions. Often the soil is sour, water-logged, unaired and totally unfit for a self-respecting plant to live in. The whole thing resolves itself into a study of conditions, and a desire to help the plant have as comfortable a time as possible in life."