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PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 139 
(4) Protecting the ends of setts with balls of Naphthaline. 
(5) Dipping the setts in Lead Arsenate solution. 
(6) Dipping the setts in Tobacco Decoction. 
(7) Putting Carbon Bisulphide in holes in the soil 14 feet apart. 
(8) Introducing Potassium Sulpho-Carbonate in the irrigation 
water. 
(9) Pouring Potassium Xanthogenate in the irrigation water. 
(10) Oil-cakes, such as Nim-cakes, used for manure. 
(11) Dipping the setts in Bordeaux mixture. 
(12) Tarring the ends of the setts. 
(13) Dipping the setts in “ Mortant ” solution. 
These were tried in small plots, each 1/100 acre. 
Of these experiments, No. (8) gave the best results. 
Can you tell us the cost of this Potassium Sulpho-carbonate treat- Mr. Fletcher. 
ment 2? It is scarcely practicable at present, as Potassium Salts are 
practically unobtainable. 
It was very cheap before the War, but is not obtainable now. Mr. Ramachandra 
Rao. 
How does it act ? Mr. Fletcher 
Potassium Sulpho-Carbonate is decomposed’ into Carbon Bisulphide Mr, Ramachandra ~ 
and Sulphuretted Hydrogen, the latter serving asa manure. Potassium Rao. 
Xanthogenate was found to be a good substitute for Potassium Sulpho- 
Carbonate, when the latter was unobtainable. It was prepared in the 
Chemical Laboratory at Coimbatore. The mixture was simply poured 
into the water running through the furrows. 
Was one application sufficient or had it to be repeated ? Mr. Fletcher. 
Whether we use Potassium Xanthogenate or Potassium Sulpho- Mr. Ramachandra 
Carbonate, it has to be repeated two or three times at intervals of a Rao- 
fortnight. 
Potassium Xanthogenate has been tried outside of India as a soil- Mr. Fletcher. 
insecticide and there was some account of it in the “ Review of Applied 
Entomology.”” I read the account at the time but the high cost of 
treatment and the limited depth in the soil at which it is effective seem 
to put it outside the range of practical politics for use on a field-scale 
in India. 
The best method of control of the attack of Termites on sugarcane 
setts in India still remains to be worked out. Where irrigation is avail- 
able and is given to the germinating cane, the use of a deterrent, such 
as Crude Oil Emulsion, in the water channel seems to be best method 
at present. Further work will be done with Lead Arsenate but I am 
doubtful whether the use of a poison of this sort, even if it is successful, 
can be recommended in a country such as India. 
