10 



Direct Remedies. 



BisuLPHiD<or CARBON. — The value of bisulphid of carbon as a fumi- 

 gant for chestnuts infested by weevils is now fully established. 

 Although at first thought it would seem difficult for the gas to pene- 

 trate through shells so firm and compact and kill the larvse, neverthe- 

 less a prominent grower in Pennsylvania successfully uses the bisul- 

 phid, applying it Avhen the nuts are first harvested. The dead weevil 

 larvae are at this time so small that the average person would never 

 detect their presence, while if they were permitted to develo}) they 

 would soon destroy the nut for food. Bisulphid of carbon has been 

 used on the largest chestnuts grown in this country, and, since a score 

 or two of larva? find shelter in a single nut, one can appreciate the 

 desirability of prompt fumigation. The grower mentioned uses 

 bisulphid of carl)on at the rate of 1 ounce to a bushel of Paragon nuts 

 placed in a kerosene barrel of about 50 gallons capacity and covered 

 by sacking. After an exposure of about sixteen hours the nuts are 

 removed, the larva^ being then practically all destroyed. Several 

 hundred pounds were treated in lOOl in this manner with perfectly 

 satisfactory results. To verify reported results, Mr. Pratt was 

 detailed to visit the infested orchard and witness the process. This 

 method could be employed at less expense by using tightly fitting 

 covers, the effectiveness of the fumigation being in exact proportion 

 to the tightness of the receptacle and the length of exposure to the 

 ^umes. Therefore, a longer exposure of one or two days, Avith per- 

 haps one-half ounce of bisulphid, should accomplish the same purpose. 



Scalding and drying. — Some growers make a practice of plunging 

 the nuts as gathered into boiling water just long enough to kill the 

 contained insects and yet not injure the nuts for sale, after which 

 they are dried before being marketed. This may be profitably accom- 

 plished by using a large sieve, which is filled with nuts, dipped in the 

 water, and removed in about five minutes. The late W. P. Corsa 

 used a washtub, in which was placed a bushel or so of nuts, pouring 

 in enough boiling water to come an inch or two above the nuts. 

 Then, by stirring vigorously with a stick, the bulk of the weevilly 

 nuts would come to the surface in the same manner as do peas and 

 beans affected by weevils." The infested nuts are skimmed off and 

 destroyed, or they may with profit and safet}' be fed to hogs, pro- 

 vided the animals do not have a too exclusive diet of this form of 

 food. Salt water, it is claimed, is preferable for scalding, the brine 

 serving to keep the shell soft and pliable and rendering the kernels 

 more palatable than when not thus treated. 



Different methods are employed in drying. A good way is to place 

 the nuts in the sun and agitate them occasionally by stirring or 



" Note the writer's observations ou this head on p. 9. 



[Cir. '.)!>] 



