14 farmers' bulletin 799. 



odor disappears rapidly where tlie air is moving at all. Traces of it 

 may linger in close or damp corners for some time, but there is no 

 danger from fire or to health from slight amounts of vapor. 



FUMIGATION OF SACKED COTTON SEED. 



On account of its fuzzy nature and the immense number of small 

 air spaces formed in tightly packed masses of cotton seed, this mate- 

 rial has proved to be a difficult subject for fumigation. Hydro- 

 cyanic-acid gas does not penetrate more than a few inches into cotton 

 seed, which carbon-disulphid vapor can penetrate for several feet 

 downward from the point of application of the liquid, but the 

 penetration by its own force is slow and the loss of time is unneces- 

 sary. A method of forcing specified quantities of the liquid and its 

 vapor into the interior of the mass of cotton seed, or into sacks of 

 seed, has been devised and described.^ By this method a squad of 

 four men can treat 600 or more sacks of seed a day. A charge of 1 

 ounce of disulphid is used for each sack of seed containing about 3 

 bushels, and the liquid and its vapor are driven into and diffused 

 through the seed by pressure of air obtained from a small air pump. 

 The cost for liquid used amounts to less than one-third of a cent per 

 bushel, and the expense for the treatment, including labor, will be 

 about one-half cent per bushel. This method of application can be 

 used with many other subjects to good advantage. The liquid and 

 vapor are released in the interior of the mass to be treated, thus 

 confining all the vapor and forcing it to diffuse throughout the mate- 

 rial before it can escape and lose its killing power. 



DESTRUCTION OF ANTS. 



Carbon disulphid is the best remedy known for the destruction of 

 colonies of ants, which frequently become great nuisances to house- 

 holders, farmers, and gardeners. With a little careful observation 

 most of these ants, except possibly the little red house ant, can be 

 traced to their outdoor homes. It helps little to destroy even a 

 large number of the workers, as the supply will be renewed quickly 

 through the rapid breeding of the colony. The only really effective 

 way of stopping the annoyance or injury is to destroy the queens 

 which lay the eggs and rarely leave the nests. 



In work with the Argentine ant in Louisiana^ it was found that 

 the colonies could be localized during the winter season or in very wet 



^ Hinds, W. E. Fumigation method for sacked cotton seed. In Jour. Bcon. Ent., 

 V. 8, no. 4, p. 400-402, pi. 21. 1915. 



Hunter, W. D. The boll-weevil problem, with special reference to means of reducing 

 damage. U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 512. p. 37-39, fig. 9. 1912. 



- Newell, Wilmon. Measures suggested against the Argentine ant as a household pest. 

 In Jour. Econ. Eut., v. 2, no. 5, p. 324-332. 1909. 



