Reading 31-1.indd

The use of pesticides is sometimes considered to have dated from the latter half of the 19th century. However, a survey of the classical literature (Smith and Secoy, 1975) has shown that there were frequent references to chemicals and natural products which appear to have been used for the control of plant disease and for killing unwanted plants and animals. As a result of further research into contemporary writings, a compendium of inorganic chemicals used for pest control in European agriculture from earliest recorded times until the middle of the 19th century is now presented with attempts to assess their possible success.