186 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



and it would be well to have them oiled, painted, or whitewashed 

 for further security. A coating of coal tar has been strongly 

 recommended for the latter purpose." 



" The value of a cool place as a repository of grain has been 

 known of old, and a building in which any artificial heat is em- 

 ployed is undesirable for grain storage. The ' heating ' and fer- 

 mentation of grain, as is well known, is productive of ' weevil, ' and 

 this should be prevented by avoiding moisture and by ventilation. 



The storage of grain in large bulk is to be commended, as the 

 surface layers only are exposed to infestation. This practice is 

 particularly valuable against the moths, which do not penetrate 

 far beneath the surface. Frequent agitation of the grain is also 

 destructive to the moths, as they are unable to extricate them- 

 selves from a large mass, and perish in the attempt. The true 

 granary-weevils (small dark-brown beetles with long curved 

 snouts, similar to the pea-weevil), however, penetrate more 

 deeply, and although bulking is of value against them, it is not 

 advisable to stir the grain, as it merely distributes them more 

 thoroughly through the mass." Chittenden 



Recent observations and experiments* have shown that in 

 the southern states, at least, injury to corn from the forms of weevil 

 which infest the ears in the field, as well as some corn earworm 

 injury, may be largely prevented by planting varieties of corn 

 which produce ears covered with husks which extend beyond the 

 tip of the ears and form a close sheath for the ear, leaving no 

 opening for the entrance of the weevil. Since there is more likeli- 

 hood of infestation from several species of weevils on corn in the 

 field in the South, the use of such varieties would seem to be good 

 practice for that region. 



Destruction of " Weevil " 



t Carbon Bisulfide. " The simplest, most effective, and most 

 inexpensive remedy for all insects that affect stored grain and 

 other stored products is the bisulfide of carbon, a colorless liquid, 

 with a strong disagreeable odor, which, however, soon passes 

 away." At ordinary temperatures it vaporizes rapidly, forming a 

 heavy gas, which is highly inflammable and a powerful poison. 



* E. A. Back, Farmers' Bulletin 1029, U. S. Dept. of Agr. 

 t See W. E. Hinds, Farmers' Bulletin 799, U. S. Dept. Agr. 



