51 



must be handled with great care. The buruiug of sulphur 

 in infested mills has been attended with both good and evil results. 

 The esp^r.euce of th^ millers cited below, should be sufficient 

 warning for all those who may resort to this method for the sup- 

 pression of insect pests. The experience of an English miller, as 

 related by Miss Ormerod in her Fourteenth Keport (p. 58), is 

 given in thi following paragraph: "But we found that sulphuring 

 has an effect which we did not anticipate or wish. We had stand- 

 ing in the mill whea the fumigation was carried on, some eighty 

 or a hundred sacks of flour, and we find to our dismay that the 

 sulphur has penetrated right into these, and acted on the gluten 

 of the flour in such a manner as to apparently break up all 

 soluble albuminoids, and render the dough made from it more 

 like a lot of weak putty than the strong, tough dough our customers 

 require." 



In May, 1892, the manager of a San Francisco mill, who tried 

 the burning of sulphur in his mill for the destruction of the 

 flour moth, wrote me as follows: "The fumes of the sulphur 

 acting on the different cereals, destroys certain properties of the 

 grain and flour, rendering both useless for bread-making purpo- 

 ses. On our first application of the sulphur fumes we nearly destroyed 

 about a thousand barrels of flour. This was very discouraging; 

 and has since prevented us from applying that gas in so exten- 

 sive a manner as is necessary to fully exterminate the moths" 



Even after this sad experience, the same miller is of the opinion 

 that sulphur is the best remedy for keeping the pest in check 

 when used in the proper manner. 



Another California miller, who has had much experience fighting 

 the moth, writes me as follows: "We cannot use sulphur in the 

 mill any more without taking out all the flour and grain that we 

 usually carry in stock. We find that the fumes of sulphur de- 

 stroy the vitality of the flour by some chemical action rendering 

 the flour worthless for bread-making purposes. They also destroy 

 the value of the wheat for flour-making purposes, as the flour 

 made from fumigated wheat makes no better bread than the fumi- 

 gated flour." . 



Other instances of this nature might be given, but those will 

 suffice. In preparing to sulphur a mill the stock should be 

 run down as low as possible, and all flour and wheat removed 

 before the sulphur is ignited. Care should be taken also to see 

 that all windows, doors, and other openings are closed. Various 

 ways have been suggested and tried for burning sulphur. A. 

 California miller outlines his method as follows: "Our method 

 of using the fumes of sulphur is to take an iron pot, set the 

 same in a can of water, put in a quantity of sulphur, or pulverized 

 brimstone, pour over it some alcohol and set the same on fire. 

 Then close up everything tight, so that the fumes cannot escape. 

 This will kill every living thing with which the gas comes in con- 

 tact. We have frequently found dead mice on the floor after hav- 

 ing fumigated the place. We use this sulphur in parts of the 

 mill which can be tightly closed so as to prevent the escape of 

 the fumes." 



