BISULPHIDE OF CARBOX AS AJT IlSrSECTICIDE. 47 



crop of four acres being gone over in one day by employing several 

 persons; the effect was thoroughly satisfactory. 



The above statement of a})plication and results are drawn from Miss 

 Ormerod's Manual and Re])orts. 



7. Bisulphide of Carbon as an Insecticide. 



This material was first brought to notice during the long series of 

 experiments made in France a few fears ago, by Government Com- 

 missions, distinguished chemists, and others, for the discovery of means 

 for destroying the grape phylloxera. It was proposed to utilize the 

 vapor given off by it in its decomposition when buried in the ground, 

 which sliould permeate the soil and reach the hidden and slieltered 

 insects among the roots of the vine, more effectually than could be ac- 

 complished by liquid poisons as ordinarily applied. In employing it 

 for this purpose, holes to the depth of two or three feet Avere made in 

 the ground among the roots by a pointed bar, into each of which about 

 two ounces of the bisulphide was poured. Later, an auger was devised 

 to take the place of the bar, having a hollow shank, perforated just 

 above the cutting portion and with an opening at the handle for re- 

 ceiving the liquid. When the auger was withdrawn after the intro- 

 duction of the liquid, the hole was tightly closed with earth. Very 

 good results attended its use in this manner ; and there is no reason to 

 doubt that it would be equally beneficial for destroying other minute 

 forms that infect the roots of growing plants. It should be a remedy 

 for the injuries of the ai)ple-root plant-louse — Schizoneura lanigera 

 (Hausm.), — the Pemphigus pyri of Fitch, Avhich causes the death of so 

 many apple-trees — of much more common occurrence in the Western 

 States than in New York, where the species is oftener found upon the 

 trunk than on the roots. 



Prof. Cook, having experimented with the bisulphide of carbon for 

 destroying the species of Anthomyia infesting our root crops, and-some 

 of the root-borers, strongly recommends it for use against the cabbage 

 fly, Anthomyia brassicce (for method of use see page 190), the peach- 

 tree borer — ^yeria exiliosa Say, and the squash-borer — Melittia 

 cucnrhitcB (Harris). 



While there are reasons why this material may not come into ex- 

 tensive use as an insecticide, it promises, from its pungent and pene- 

 trating odor, to be a valuable agent in protecting plants from egg 

 deposit. 



8. Carbolic Acid as an Insecticide. 



Carbolic acid has also been used to arrest the ravages of the phyl- 

 loxera in the same manner as above mentioned for the bisulphide of 

 carbon, and with very good success. Vineyards, through its use, have 



