THE PINK BOLLWOKM. 19 



in a remarkably short time and became available for use on the date 

 mentioned. Two of these plants were erected in Boston and one at 

 Oakland, Cal. A little later additional plants were erected at New 

 York City and Newark, N. J., and two plants are now available in 

 Seattle, Wash. These establishments have a capacity sufficient to 

 handle all of the imported cotton without any special delay. The 

 larger plants have a capacity of upward of 1,000 bales per day. 



The procedure to be followed in the fumigation of foreign cotton 

 is given in an order of the Federal Horticultural Board (12). The 

 kind of cyanid and sulphuric acid is specified. The rate is 6 ounces 

 of sodium cyanid per 100 cubic feet. The cotton to be fumigated is 

 placed in the fumigating chambers, the doors to these chambers are 

 closed, and the air is exhausted until the vacuum gauge registers 25 

 inches. At this stage the gas is generated in a retort connected with 

 the large chamber. The valve of the connecting pipe is opened; after 

 the expiration of 15 minutes air is allowed to pass through the gen- 

 erator for 5 minutes for the purpose of removing any gas which may 

 be present. The air valve on the fumigating chamber is then opened 

 and the air allowed to rush in until the gauge registers 5 inches. 

 The cotton then remains in the chamber for 1 hour and 40 minutes, 

 making the total process of fumigation 2 hours. After the comple- 

 tion of the exposure, t^ remove the gas the pumps are run again and 

 a vacuum of 25 inches established. At this stage the valves are 

 opened and the pumps kept running for some time to complete the 

 washing out of the gas from the bales. The pumps are then stopped 

 and the doors of the chamber opened so that the cotton can be re- 

 moved and another lot put in. 



On December 27, 1915, Mr. R. I. Smith, the inspector of the board 

 at Boston, Mass., called the attention of the board to the fact that a 

 considerable amount of cotton waste was being imported. Some of 

 this waste was found to contain more than twenty times as much seed 

 as a bale of ordinary cotton. On this account the definition of the 

 term "cotton" in the regulations was changed to include all grades 

 of cotton waste except those resulting from processes of manufacture 

 which render it mechanically impossible that seeds may be contained. 

 These are the grades of waste resulting from the carding machines 

 and subsequent processes in the manufacture of cotton. The require- 

 ment of fumigation of cotton waste went into effect on February 16, 

 1916. 



On April 11, 1916, the collector of customs at Norfolk, Va., tele- 

 graphed the board that some 189 tons of cotton seed from Lagos, West 

 Africa, constituted a portion of the cargo of the British steamship 

 Appam, brought to Newport News as a German prize of war. In 

 cooperation with the Office of Markets the board took immediate steps 



