UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 
 
 COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE benj. ide wheeler, president 
 
 BERKELEY 
 
 THOMAS FORSYTH HUNT, Dean and Director 
 
 H. E. VAN NORMAN. Vice-Director and Dean 
 
 University Farm School 
 
 CIRCULAR No. 141 
 
 October, 1915 
 
 STANDARD INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES 
 
 versus 
 
 SECRET PREPARATIONS 
 
 By GEO. P. GEAY 
 
 No small part of the correspondence of the Insecticide and Fungi- 
 cide Laborator}^ of the University of California is in answer to 
 questions concerning the composition or value of various proprietary 
 remedies which are being offered for sale for the control or eradication 
 of insects or fungi. The following is an abstract from a letter which 
 is more or less typical of many which have been received : 
 
 "Under separate cover I am sending you a small sample of a preparation 
 which is being used and offered for sale in this district as a secret cure for . . . 
 The man who is introducing this medicine claims great and mysterious things 
 for it and is charging an extremely exorbitant price for the same. In one 
 orchard, for instance, he treated something like 300 trees and claimed that 
 his medicine cost $285. I desire very much to have an analysis of this 
 material. I have assumed that it is merely creosote or some similar substance 
 with . . . coloring matter in it. The man claims, however, to have some other 
 mysterious substance mixed with it. ' ' 
 
 COMMON EEMEDIES IN DISGUISE MAY CONSTITUTE 
 ALLEGED DISCOVERIES 
 
 Very often the promoters of "secret" remedies either claim or 
 imply certain mysterious properties for their compounds and "new 
 discoveries" are frequently mentioned. The statement is commonly 
 found that "years of study have been spent in the perfection" of such 
 preparations. During the four years' operation of the California 
 Insecticide Law, scores of proprietary insecticides and fungicides 
 have been analyzed. In no case could any mysterious or costly sub- 
 stance be found by the most searching examination, nor could any 
 substance be detected which had not been made public as a remedy 
 for insects or fungi. Based upon this experience, a study of the pub- 
 lished writings on insecticides and fungicides, and of the formulas 
 on file in the office, it is concluded that the most noteworthy "dis- 
 coveries" and "secrets" in this class of goods consist not in the 
 discovery of the insecticide or fungicide itself but the discovery and 
 keeping secret of efficient and cheap coloring matters or powerful and 
 pleasant smelling perfumes to mask the presence of some very com- 
 mon remedy. The mysterious and wonderful properties ascribed to 
 
them are too often found on the outside of the package composed of 
 printer's ink, rather than upon the inside of the package. Among 
 illustrations of this kind may be mentioned the coloring of borax with 
 iron rust, the sweetening of the odor of kerosene with oil of citronella, 
 the coloring of carbon bisulphide with iodine and masking its tell-tale 
 odor with oil of mirbane. 
 
 "TREEVAX" ANOTHER GOOD ILLUSTRATION 
 
 The most recent instance of this kind that has come to the attention 
 of the laboratory is a red powder which is being offered for sale in 
 the state under the name of "Treevax," probably intended to catch 
 the fancy of the public under the guise of a supposed tree vaccine. 
 It is said to be manufactured by the Treevax Chemical Company of 
 Hicksville, Ohio. Special mention is made of this compound for the 
 reason that it is believed that the method of application is such as 
 to place in jeopardy the life of any tree to which it may be applied. 
 
 A sample of "Treevax" has been analyzed by the laboratory and 
 found to be of approximately the following composition : 
 
 Potassium nitrate (saltpeter) 2 parts 
 
 Sulphur 5 parts 
 
 Iron compounds (principally oxides and carbonates) 1 part 
 
 According to the best information available, such a mixture is practically 
 valueless as an insecticide or fungicide when placed in a hole bored into the 
 trunk of a tree, as directed in the circulars. The retail price of the most 
 expensive ingredient (saltpeter) is only about twenty-five cents per pound, 
 even at ' ' war prices. ' ' The price of ' ' Treevax " is $2 per pound. 
 
 Very alluring and extravagant claims are made in the circulars accompany- 
 ing the package. The following are some of the statements made: "Treevax 
 kills San Jose Scale, Caterpillars, Lice, Borers and many insects that feed 
 upon leaf, branch, roots, or fruit, without injury to either. Blight — the enemy 
 of the pear tree is conquered by Treevax. ' ' 
 
 The above claims appear to be based largely upon the experience of a 
 certain lady of Hicksville, Ohio, who testifies that she had a very valuable 
 pear tree on her lot which was badly affected with the blight and that after 
 treatment with "Treevax," "The tree soon took on new life and a healthier 
 tree cannot be found than my pear tree, and it was just loaded with fruit." 
 According to the circular, a quantity of the pear juice was extracted from 
 the pears grown by the owner of this valuable tree and subjected to bacterio- 
 logical and chemical analysis and found free from any injurious impurities. 
 Pictures are also shown of a certain Ohio orchard (consisting of sixteen trees) 
 which had been treated with "Treevax" in comparison with an orchard which 
 had not been so treated. 
 
 An effort is made in the advertising matter accompanying the package to 
 create the impression that the compound and method of treatment are based 
 upon scientific principles. The statement is also made that "years have been 
 spent in perfecting the compound." The directions for use and the testimonials 
 are mosi unscientific, however. It is presumed that the best of the testi- 
 monials would be selected for the advertising matter, but those given are 
 not calculated to greatly impress the scientist. The lady's pear tree and 
 
the sixteen-tree orchard which were rescued from an untimely death do not 
 constitute sufficient evidence to warrant the statement appearing on the circular 
 that ' ' The Treevax treatment is based on the same scientific facts as are now 
 commonly accepted by the medical profession and it is creating the same 
 revolution in the treatment of diseases of plant life that has already taken 
 place in the treatment of human ills." The promoters can not be very 
 familiar with the habits of scale insects, for it is directed that "All dead 
 limbs should be trimmed or cut off tree. This is very essential for a dead 
 limb has no sap and if left on scale or other pests seek refuge on it, hence 
 full benefit of the treatment is not realized." This direction is printed in 
 large type. The removal of dead limbs might be a benefit to a tree affected 
 with blight, but one does not need to be a trained entomologist to smile at 
 the thought of scale or other pests seeking refuge on the dead limbs of a 
 tree and there starving to death, of course, for the want of sap or other 
 nourishment. 
 
 The most insidious feature of the application of the material is believed 
 to be the effect of the "plugging" of trees by inexperienced hands. The 
 directions for use are to bore a hole in the tree, fill with the powder, drive 
 in a hardwood plug and seal over with grafting wax. This question has been 
 discussed in the publications of several experiment stations and in other 
 literature. A summary of some of the experiments and conclusions has been 
 made in the California Cultivator of April 22, 1915, and orchardists are advised 
 of the futility and probable harmfulness of applying the known remedies in 
 the manner under discussion. 
 
 Present or future investigations may disclose an effective and safe way 
 to control insects and fungi by means of remedies carried by the sap of 
 trees. At present, however, there is no satisfactorily demonstrated method 
 of this kind which may be used by unskilled hands, nor is it at all certain 
 that a remedy can be thus applied, even by the expert, in sufficient strength 
 to destroy insects or fungi without injury to the tree. 
 
 It does seem certain, however, that a simple mixture of saltpeter, 
 sulphur, and insoluble iron, selling at $2 a pound under the name of 
 " Treevax" is a rank fraud and can have no legitimate place among 
 the remedies in use by the fruitgrowers of California. The most 
 serious menace of the compound is that some one may be misled by 
 the confident assurance of the promoters and bore his trees full of 
 holes, be further misled by the stimulating effect on the foliage of 
 the soluble nitrate, and not realize his mistake until his trees begin 
 to suffer from the effects of wood rot many months later. 
 
 PEOPEIETAKY REMEDIES NOT ALL FRAUDULENT 
 
 It is not intended by the above discussion to imply that all pro- 
 prietary preparations are worthless, for many have been examined 
 which are valuable and reliable remedies, but are on the market under 
 names which do not convey any idea of their composition. Some of 
 them are being sold at their true commercial value, the name being 
 used only as an identification mark to designate certain characteristics 
 or quality or worth of the particular preparation. There can be no 
 objection made to the use of a trade name or brand or trade mark 
 
in connection with a standard material and, in fact, it is often quite 
 desirable. Furthermore, if an actual discovery of some new insecticide 
 or fungicide has been made, there can be no objection to the use of 
 a coined name to designate the product. If the composition of the 
 material is disclosed (but not necessarily the mode of manufacturing 
 or compounding), the product may be properly recognized as a 
 standard remedy, if tests show it to be worthy. 
 
 DISADVANTAGES IN USING PROPRIETARY REMEDIES 
 
 The fact that an insecticide or fungicide of secret composition is 
 sold under a trade name does not necessarily condemn the preparation, 
 but it does place it under suspicion, for the following reasons : 
 
 1. Under the existing insecticide laws, it is possible to concoct 
 any form of mixture which is not absolutely injurious and impose 
 it upon the consuming public. 
 
 2. No standard can be made for proprietary preparations. Their 
 composition is entirely according to the desire of the manufacturer 
 and may be changed at will. 
 
 3. Copyrighted names are often taken advantage of to obtain a 
 higher price for a common remedy than could be obtained by the use 
 of the real name of the material. 
 
 4. Certain mysterious and wonderful properties may be claimed 
 or implied for a compound sold under a coined name, and obtain 
 greater credence than if the composition were known. 
 
 5. The United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricult- 
 ural Experiment Stations of the several states are spending thousands 
 of dollars each year in making a study of the standard insecticides 
 and fungicides. Recommendations are made for their use based upon 
 careful experiments, as to what materials are best adapted to meet 
 the different requirements, what materials may be safely mixed, and 
 giving precautions to be observed in their use. To the consumer who 
 is using the standard remedies, all this information is available. Such, 
 however, is not the case for the one who is using a remedy sold under 
 a trade name which conveys no idea of its composition. 
 
 If the prospective user appeals to his County Commissioner of 
 Horticulture for advice about the use of a proprietary remedy or goes 
 to the University Experiment Station for help, the available informa- 
 tion must of necessity be limited, for it would be an absolute impos- 
 sibility to test out individually the thousands of materials offered for 
 sale under trade names. Furthermore, if this could be done, there 
 would be no assurance that the manufacturer would not change the 
 composition of his product whenever he saw fit, and continue selling 
 the new preparation under the old name. A secret remedy is com- 
 pounded in accordance with no standard except the desire of the 
 manufacturer. 
 
 Consumers are therefore urged to greatly discount the marvelous 
 properties and virtues so often ascribed to secret remedies, and to 
 make use of the standard materials of more modest, but usually more 
 truthful, claims.