TREATING GRAIN. 



257 



there. Either the whole godown must be insect-proof or the seeds must be 

 kept in tight vessels. A bamboo basket is not insect-proof unless well 

 plastered with mixed mud and cowdung. If there is anywhere a crack 

 large enough to admit a grain 

 weevil, the grain will be spoilt. 



(4) If stored grain becomes 

 infested with weevils, it must be 

 removed and cleaned. Even in 

 an air-tight bottle or jar, weevils 

 will live and breed if they are 

 put in with the grain. If once 

 the grain is infested, it must be 

 taken out and cleaned so as to 

 separate the good grain from the bad. Such grain before being replaced in 

 the godown must be cleared of insects by fumigation. 



Seeds and grain can be kept safely only in air-tight vessels or in 

 insect-proof places, but this is not sufficient as the grain when put 

 in may be infested with the eggs of grain beetles. If grain is stored, 

 it should be examined after storing to make sure that no insects are 

 breeding in it. 



There is no treatment known that will make a seed proof against 



FIG. 811. 



The Gram Beetle. (Magnified.) 



. * 



FIG. 312. 



Flour Moth. Caterpillar ; cases of flour and welling ; pupa (on right)} moth. 



(Magnified.) 



weevils and not impair its germination or food value. Seed cannot be 

 kept unless put away free from infection and kept so. It is easier to 

 keep seed free from insects than it is to be sure that, when put away, it 

 js not Jnfepted ; the principal difficulty with the storage of grain on any 



