254 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



placed in storage, when with a suitably warm temperature it 

 comes out of the pea as a mature beetle and lays its eggs upon 

 other stored seed. These eggs soon hatch and produce other 

 larvae, which cause further destruction of the peas. There may 

 be several generations of these beetles in a single year, so that, 

 unless precautions are taken to destroy the insect as soon as 

 possible after the peas are placed in storage, a large proportion, 

 if not all, of the peas may be infested. Peas infested with 

 weevil can readily be discovered by throwing them lightly into 

 water, when the infested peas will float. 



Dr. T. J. Headlee, entomologist of this Station, in speaking 

 of the pea weevil, says that these insects are so easily kept 

 under control that no grower should lose a large amount of seed 

 as a result of their worjc. He recommends as a preventive 

 measure that the infected seed peas be treated with carbon 

 bisulfid as soon as placed in storage, followed with a second 

 treatment two or three weeks later, when any eggs not hatched 

 at the time of the first treatment will have hatched and may 

 thus be destroyed. 



Carbon bisulfid costs about twenty cents a pound, and that 

 amount is sufficient to treat about 500 cubic feet of peas. The 

 treatment is easily made if the peas are stored in bins as nearly 

 air-tight on sides and bottom as possible.. The carbon bisulfid 

 should be placed in a dish on top of the seed, where it will 

 evaporate, and, being heavier than air, will sink into the mass 

 of the seed, destroying any insects present. The gas diffuses 

 equally in all directions through the seed and the quantity of 

 carbon bisulfid to be used must be determined by the total size 

 of the bin. There is no danger of using too much of the liquid. 

 A canvas covering may be thrown over the surface of the peas 

 to insure a more perfect confinement of the gas during the 

 treatment. 



Caution. — Great care is necessary in using carbon bisulfid. 

 It is a highly inflammable gas, and no fire of any nature should 

 be allowed in the building where the gas is being used. Care 

 must be taken not to enter the building with a lighted lantern, 



