TENTS. 19 



A skirt of 6^T-oimce drill is of considerable advantage in redncino; 

 the weight, especiall,y in the case of the larger sizes of tents. This 

 drill is usually about 28 inches wide, and when a skirt is to be used 

 allowance is made for one or two widths in constructing the diagram 

 and in figuring for the cutting of the 8-ounce duck. Sometimes tlie 

 skirt is run all around the margin, but it is preferable to have the full- 

 length strips (section B) extended the entire length of the tent and 

 tlie drill sewed to the three sitles of section A and of section C. When 

 the skirt extends all the way around, when shifting the tent by means 

 of poles or uprights, the rings should always be located on the duck 

 inside of the skirt, to avoid too great stress upon the lighter material. 



Painting, oiling, mildew-proofing, and care of tents. — Various meth- 

 ods have been used to preserve and to increase the tightness of fumi- 

 gating tents. Linseed oil was one of the first materials tested for 

 increasing the tightness of the cloth,'^' but experience has shown this 

 to be undesirable when used either by itself or in combinations, on 

 account of the deterioration in the strength of the cloth and the lia- 

 bility to burn or rot when long left folded. Painting the cloth with 

 black paint, with an inferior grade of glue, called '^size," and with a 

 mucilaginous juice of the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp.) are three 

 methods mentioned by Mr. D. W. Coquillett in a report dated in 

 October, 1890, as in use in California. In recent years these three 

 methods have all been used more or less, the last the most extensively 

 of the three. At present the most usual practice of California fumi- 

 gators is to use untreated tents or tents proofed against mildew by 

 dipping and boiling in a solution of tannin. This last treatment is not 

 considered of any value in rendering the tent tighter except by ordi- 

 nary shrinkage, which would be accomplished as well in due course 

 after using one or two nights, particularly in Florida, where heavy 

 dews are usual. The method of treatment with the tannin solution, 

 as reported by a committee on fumigation appointed by the Claremont 

 (CaHfornia) Horticultural Club and published in various horticultural 

 and agricultural papers, is as follows: 



To prevent ruination by mildew when the tents are damp, they must he dipped. 

 This is done in a large tank, made either of galvanized or boiler iron. These should 

 be 3 by 10 feet and 2^ feet deep. The boiler should be rounded. This must be on 

 a good arch, so as to permit a fire under it. The smoke pipe or chimney of the arch 

 must be high, to secure a draft. A derrick made by three poles above the tank, sup- 

 plied with pulleys and a rope, makes dipping easy and permits raising of the tent and 

 dripping after dipping is completed. It. also aids in keeping the tent from the bottom 

 of the tank and burning, which must l)e avoided. The tank is filled to near the top 

 with water and made very dark by adding a half barrel of oak extract or tannin. Tliis 

 is well stirred. The tannin should not be added until the water is ))oiling. The tent 

 is lowered into the tank of lx)iling water and extract and boiled for half an hour. It is 



o Report of Commissioner of Agriculture, 1887, Report on the Gas Treatment for 

 Scale Insects, by D. W. Cofiuillett, p. 12(i. 



