19 
eral holes made in the space occupied by the ants, the openings being 
then closed, or the action is made more rapid by covering with a wet 
blanket for ten minutes and then exploding the vapor at the mouth of 
the holes with a torch, the explosion driving the fumes more thoroughly 
through the soil. 
Submersion.—This very successful means against the phylloxera is 
now practiced over some 75,000 acres of vineyards in France which 
were once destroyed by the grape root-louse, and the production and 
quality of fruit has been fully restored. In this country it will be 
particularly available in California and in all arid districts where 
irrigation is practiced, otherwise it will be too expensive to be profit- 
able. The best results are secured in soils in which the water will 
penetrate rather slowly, or from 6 to 18 inches in twenty-four hours; 
in loose, sandy souls it is impracticable on account of the great amount 
of water required. Submersion consists in keeping the soil of: the 
vineyard flooded for from eight to twenty days after the fruit has been 
gathered and active growth of the vine ceased, or during September 
or October, but while the phylloxera is still in active development. 
Early in September eight to ten days will suffice; in October, fifteen 
to twenty days, and during the winter, as was formerly practiced, forty 
to sixty days. Supplementing the short fall submergence a liberal 
July irrigation, amounting to a forty-eight-hour flooding, is customary 
to reach any individuals surviving the fall treatment, and which in 
midsummer are very susceptible to the action of water. 
To facilitate the operation vineyards are commonly divided by 
embankments of earth into square or rectangular plots, the former for 
level and the latter for sloping ground, the retaining walls being pro- 
tected by coverings of reed grass, etc., during the first year, or until 
they may be seeded to some forage plant. 
This treatment will destroy many other root-attacking insects or those 
hibernating beneath the soil, and, in fact, is a very ancient practice in 
certain oriental countries bordering the Black Sea and the Grecian 
Archipelago. 
REMEDIES FOR INSECTS AFFECTING GRAIN AND OTHER STORED 
PRODUCTS. 
The chief loss in this direction from insects is to grains in farmers’ 
bins, or grain or grain products in stores, mills, and elevators, although 
in the warmer latitudes much of the injury results from infestation in 
the field between the ripening of the grain and its storage in bins or 
granaries. Fortunately, the several important grain insects are ame- 
nable to like treatment. Aside from various important preventive con- 
siderations, such as, in the South, prompt threshing of grain after 
harvesting, the thorough cleansing of bins before refilling, constant 
Sweeping, removal of waste harboring insects from all parts of granaries 
and mills, and care to prevent the introduction of ‘ weeviled” grain, 
