A CHEAP INSECTICIDE.
A cheap and simply-prepared insecticide is mentioned in the Gardeners' Chronicle. Some pot paints were infested with aphis. These were placed in a box, a few laurel leaves were thrown in, first crushing them somewhat, the box was closed, and in ]0 minutes or so the aphides appeared to be all dead. The explanation of the insecticidal action of the crushed laurel leaves is, of course, as simple as the remedy. Laurel, like many other plants, contains a complex substance (a glucoside), which, when the leaf is injured, is acted on by a ferment (also contained in the leaf), and, decomposingj gives rise, amongst other things, to the excessively poisonous gas—hydrocyanic acid. The gardener who devised this remedy was, therefore, unconsciously fumigating with hydrocyanic acid gas. If the laurel leaves are placed in a basin, and a drop or two of chloroform added, the gas is liberated more quickly, and hence the insects succumb to it sooner. A fumigating box and a few laurel leaves might come in handy where an occasional pot plant requires insecticide treatment.
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King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 429, 10 January 1912, Page 3
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180A CHEAP INSECTICIDE. King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 429, 10 January 1912, Page 3
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