Honolulu Republican, Volume IV, Number 504, 23 January 1902 — LANTANA IS INSECTICIDE [ARTICLE]

LANTANA IS INSECTICIDE

EXFE«I*£SIS OF DR. 1. B.CJRIEB LEAVES ARE DRIED ON OAHU AND REDUCED TO PINE INSECT POWDER. Heme Machine is Used To Dry Leaves Which a'e Then Ground and Sifted—Powder Burns Readily and is Very Effective Without an Unpleasant Odor. The suggestion received from Lys- , ter H D*-wey. a botanist from the j States, that the bark of the lantana might be used for tanning purposes, : rails to mind at least one use to which this despised plant can be put. Experiments with it have been made by Dr. A. B. Carter on his place Ma- ' kao. on the other side of this island, I and he found that the leaves of the lantana. dried and reduced into a fine powder, made a very fine insect powl der. Doctor Carter Experiments. The doctor lit upon this discovery J hy noticing that most insects seem j tjo shun the leaves of the lantana | hushes and that they seldom alight no them. This led him to believe that there must be something in the leaves which was repugnant to the insects , and he consequently began expert |m< nting. He first thoroughly dried the leaves using for this end a drying machine which is used on his place for drying fish, fruits and other things. This apparatus, which is a very effective one. is simply a box about one hundred feet long and covered with glass like a hot house. The • ud which faces the point of the compass from which the trade winds come is about three feet above the ground while the other end is elevated about ten feet. Very Effective Dryer. The doctor has found that the air which passes through this apparatus will he much heated by the sun’s i shining on the glass, a temperature of 140 degrees having frequently been reached. This drier proved very effective for drying the lantana leaves although they can also be effectually dried by simply exposing them directly to the sun. When the j leaves had been thoroughly dried they were pounded into as fine a pow-j ( rter as possible and then this powder I was shaken through several sieves, the last sieve in the series being a very fine one. It was found that the * i powder which was powdered by this process would burn very readily in the i same manner as bubacb and like | preparations. I The lantana powder has also the ' advantage that it does not emTt the I peculiar odor which makes the burn-1 1 ing of bubarh offensive to many peo pie.