608 ANNUAL, REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Diiiinf; the year it was noted tliat a considerable number of dis- 

 infectant nianufiicturers were adnlteratinj; their so-called " pine oil" 

 disinfectants with mineral oil; also some manufacturers of so-called 

 "coal-tar disinfectants" were aduleratin*; these with mineral oil. 

 Several cases involvinor such adulteration were referred to the De- 

 partment of Justice to institute prosecution. 



The campaijjn started during: the fiscal year 1919 a^ijainst insect- 

 powder adulteration with powdered daisies was continued during 

 the fiscal year 1920. As a result of this campaign this form of 

 adulteration appears to have markedly decreased. Since the price 

 of insect powder has been so high there has been a marked tendency 

 for certain manufacturers to adulterate their insect powder with 

 insect flower stems or other cheap adulterants. A considerable num- 

 ber of such cases as this have been forw^arded to the courts for prose- 

 cution. 



Tlie campaign against adulterated and misbranded disinfectants 

 has been continued during the 3'ear, and a considerable number of 

 disinfectant cases have been forwarded to the courts for prosecu- 

 tion. In some of these the manufacturers claimed phenol coeffi- 

 cients much higher than were shown by a test of their goods; in 

 others preparations were recommended as disinfectants which in 

 fact possessed no disinfecting qualities; but the principal fault in 

 these preparations lay in the very exorbitant and faulty claims made 

 for the products in the labels and literature. Wliile a considerable 

 improvement in the preparation and labeling of disinfectants has 

 been brought about as a result of the enforcement of the insecticide 

 act, this class of preparations should and will receive further control 

 and regulation under the provisions of the act. 



The campaign to improve the quality of Bordeaux and Bordeaux- 

 lead arsenates sold on the American market and secure such correc- 

 tion of the labeling of these products that they will be effective as 

 fungicides when used at the dilutions recommended has been contin- 

 ued. A marked improvement in the quality and labeling of these 

 preparations has been brought about as the result of the activities 

 of this board. However, some of these preparations are still of poor 

 quality and will not do what is claimed for them. Field tests are 

 being made to enable the board to proceed against such of the Bor- 

 deaux and Bordeaux-lead arsenates on the market as are misbranded 

 or adulterated, or both, under the provisions of the insecticide act. 



During the fiscal year 1919 a campaign was inaugurated which had 

 for its purpose the inspection of calcium arsenate used for cotton- 

 boll-weevil control. After years of experimentation on the part of 

 the Bureau of Entomology, a remedy for the cotton-boll weevil was 

 finally found in the product calcium arsenate. However, such cal- 

 cium arsenate, when applied as a dust, in order to be effective against 

 the cotton-boll weevil and yet not injurious to the cotton plant, must 

 be up to a certain standard for total arsenic, must not contain more 

 than a very small amount of arsenic in water-soluble forms, and 

 must be of about a certain density. As a result of the discovery 

 that calcium arsenate would control cotton-boll weevil, about 3,000,- 

 ^00 pounds of it were manufactured and shipped to the South during 

 the 1919 cotton-growing season. The campaign carried on to control 

 the purity under the provisions of the insecticide act showed that 



