[Footnote: By John B. Smith, entomologist. Potash as an insecticide is
not entirely new, but has never been brought out with the prominence I
think it deserves.--_N.J. Ag. Col. Exp. St., Bulletin 75._]
My attention was attracted to potash salts as an insecticide, by the
casual remark of an intelligent farmer, that washing his young pear
trees with a muriate of potash solution cleared them of scales. The
value of this substance for insecticide purposes, should its powers be
sufficient, struck me at once, and I began investigation. It was
unluckily too late in the season for field experiments of the nature
desired; but it is the uniform testimony of farmers who have used
either the muriate or the kainit in the cornfields, that they have
there no trouble with grubs or cut worms. Mr. E.B. Voorhees, the
senior chemist of the station, assures me that on his father's farm
the fields were badly infested, and replanting cornhills killed by
grubs or wire worms was a recognized part of the programme. Since
using the potash salts, however, they have had absolutely no trouble,
and even their previously worst-infested fields show no further trace
of injury. The same testimony comes from others, and I feel safe in
recommending these salts, preferably kainit, to those who are troubled
with cut worms or wire worms in corn.