25 



Experiment V. Bisulphide of Carbon. 



About twenty-five drops poured on top of the hill. 

 Result. — Same as in experiment IV. 



Experiment VI. Bisulphide of Carbon. 



An ant hill nearly six feet square, next to the underpinning of a house, 

 was doing much damage. The ground was so thoroughly mined that a 

 person walking over it would sink in quite deeply, the grass on the hill 

 was nearly dead. With a small stick, holes about six inches deep were 

 made about fifteen inches apart, over the hill, and two or three teaspoon- 

 fuls of the Bisulphide poured into each hole, after which all the holes 

 were closed up and the earth pressed down by stepping on them. 



Result. — No ants have since appeared there, no fresh earth has been 

 brought to the surface, and the whole place has formed a good turf. 



It is probable that the method of treatment in this case is the explana- 

 tion of its success and of the non- success of experiments IV. and V. 

 Further trials are needed, however, to obtain any final results, and for 

 that reason this should be considered as a partial report, only. 



ALUM NOT DESTRUCTIVE TO CURRANT WORMS. 



The statement was quite widely circulated in the agricultural papers 

 during the early part of the summer, that alum in solution in water would 

 destroy the currant worm (Neniatus rihesii Scop.) 



To settle the question beyond the shadow of a doubt, a plant with cur- 

 rant worms upon it was placed in a breeding cage and showered with a 

 weak solution of alum from an atomizer such as is used by physicians. 

 The worms showed a little disquiet when the spray was falling on them, 

 and threw the posterior end of their bodies back and forth a few times, 

 and then went on feeding as though nothing had happened. In a few 

 days they were treated again with a stronger solution but with like re- 

 sults. Finally a saturated solution of alum was made and showered over 

 them and the leaves of the currant, but they in no case fell from the 

 leaves, and appeared no more disturbed than when clear water was 

 thrown upon them from an atomizer. 



After this the worms under observation were not disturbed, but con- 

 tinued feeding quite as if nothing had happened, and passed their trans- 

 formations in quite as healthy a condition as those which were not 

 treated. 



From these experiments we must conclude that alum as an insecticide 

 for the currant worm is a perfect failure. It is possible that some one 

 who tried showering currant worms with alum water, did it just before 



