10 
USES OF CARBON BISULPHID. 
COMMERCIAL USES. 
Carbon bisulphid is extensively used in the arts as a solvent fora 
number of things, such as sulphur, phosphorus, oils, resins, caout- 
chouc, gutta-percha, ete. It is largely used in rubber manufacture, 
being especially valuable in the manufacture of waterproof goods. In 
woolen manufacture it is used to regain oils and fats from the wool. 
The fact of its being so widely used shows that it is not an unusually 
dangerous thing to handle, though there can be no doubt that the 
long-continued inhalation of even a little of the fumes produces very 
bad effects upon the health of the operators. 
PHYLLOXERA TREATMENT. 
It is for insects living underground especially that this insecticide 
fills a need which has not yet been equally well met by any other. By 
far its largest use in insecticidal work has been in France against the 
grape Phylloxera—a little plant-louse living mainly upon the roots of 
that vine. ‘This insect is a native of the United States, and from here 
was introduced into France about 1859 upon imported vines. As is the 
rule with insect pests, this plant-louse proved to be far more destruc- 
tive to the vines in France than it had been in this country. In 1863 
its first injuries were manifest, and in less than ten years it had mul- 
tiplied so enormously there and spread so widely that it was feared 
that vine growing in France was doomed. This insect’s connection 
with the deterioration and death of the vines was not known until 1868, 
when it was proven by a French scientist. 
This insecticide was first applied to the Phylloxera in 1859 by Baron 
Paul Thénard. Unfortunately, in attempting to force the fumes to the 
necessary depth to kill the insects he also killed his vines by the over- 
dose. Later experiments gave better results. In 1873 the use of 
carbon bisulphid rapidly increased until over 200,000 acres were 
receiving annual treatment. Treatment had to be repeated for three 
years before the vines regained their normal condition. 
This use of carbon bisulphid for the Phylloxera was the beginning 
of its underground use. The following is a summary of the principal 
conclusions reached by many experimenters in the course of years of 
work against this little root louse: 
Diffusion of the vapor in the soil—Upon being introduced into the 
soil at some depth below the surface the liquid evaporates as it does 
in the open air, only much more slowly. The vapor tends to diffuse 
through all the air spaces of the soil. It thus produces an atmosphere 
which is fatal to all insects living within its reach. The rapidity of 
evaporation, the extent of diffusion, and the persistence of the vapor 
in the soil vary widely in soils of varying characters and conditions, 
