INDUSTRIAL FUMIGATION AGAINST INSECTS 



45 



CURED MEATS AND CHEESES 



Infestation of cured meats and cheeses by mites, ham beetles, or 

 skippers frequently makes fumigation necessary. Meat-storage houses 

 that are reasonably tight can usually be successfully fumigated with 

 hydrocyanic acid at the rate of 1 pound of liquid hydrocyanic acid or 

 its equivalent per 1.000 cubic feet for a period of 24 hours. Such 

 treatment does not injure the meats, but if the infestation has pene- 

 trated deeply into the meat, it is difficult to get a perfect kill. The 

 Federal meat-inspection regulations 5 require that permission for each 

 fumigation be obtained from the Federal meat inspector. 



Cheeses that are protected by an unbroken layer of paraffin can be 

 safely fumigated with hydrocyanic acid, but, owing to the danger of 



Figure 39. — Interior of tobacco storage with tobacco stored in hogsheads 



their absorbing large quantities of the gas, unprotected cheeses should 

 be removed from a warehouse that is to be fumigated. 



For the treatment of small quantities of cured meats or cheeses, a 

 fumigation vault or other tight container is recommended. Carbon 

 disulphide at the rate of 10 pounds, ethylene oxide at the rate of 2 

 pounds, or the ethylene oxide-carbon dioxide mixture at the rate of 

 20 pounds, per 1.000 cubic feet of space can be used for a period of 

 24 hours. 



STORED TOBACCO 



Tobacco that is held in storage (figs. 39 and 40) often becomes in- 

 fested with the tobacco beetle (Lasioderma serrieorne Fab.) or the 

 tobacco moth (Ephestia elutella Hbn.). If the infested tobacco is 



5 F. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Service and Regulatory 

 Announcements. January 1921, p. 3. and August 1927, p. 62. 



