FLAVOR AND BENZENE HEXACHLORIDE CONTENT OF PEANUTS 19 



Among the 1952 peanut samples, which followed cotton treated 

 with BHC containing 36 percent of gamma at application rates pro- 

 viding 1.3 to 5.0 pounds of gamma per acre, all determined BHC 

 contents were under 0.2 p. p. m. (table 7). Within the limits of the 

 analytical method, therefore, none of these samples contained signifi- 

 cant amounts of BHC. 



Soils. — The highest observed BHC content of the soil samples 

 examined in 1950 was 0.13 p. p. m. (table 3). In other samples 

 analyzed, observed BHC contents of 0.10 p. p. m. or less were within 

 the estimated limits of reliability of the analytical method when 

 applied to soils. As with the peanuts, the BHC content of the soils 

 snowed no regular correlation with reported applications of insecti- 

 cide to cotton crops grown in the soils tested. 



Among all soil samples tested, highest concentrations of BHC were 

 found in the 1951 samples from the Tidewater Field Station, Holland, 

 Va. (table 5). Concentrations of BHC, ranging from 0.48 to 0.65 

 p. p. m. in the soils treated with 3.8 pounds of gamma per acre and 

 from 0.64 to 1.39 p. p. m. following the 5.1 pound applications were 

 all weU above the 0.1 p. p. m. limit of reliability of the analytical 

 method when applied to soils and were generally correlated with the 

 amounts of insecticide ' applied. These, as well as the 1950 samples, 

 were all from soils used for cotton treated with BHC containing 

 13 percent of gamma. It was observed that the BHC content of 

 the soils tended to be higher than that of the peanuts grown in the 

 soils. 



All but one of the concentrations of BHC in the 1952 soil samples, 

 where cotton treated with BHC containing 36 percent gamma had 

 been grown, were at or below the 0.2 p. p. m. level of reliability of the 

 analytical method (table 7). In this one case (Turner farm, eight 

 applications, fall sampling) the amount found, 0.12 p. p. m., was of 

 borderline significance, particularly since a sample collected from this 

 plot in the spring showed only 0.05 p. p. m. of BHC. 



Averages of the BHC content of the peanut and soil samples from 

 treated fields are shown below: 

 Material sampled: 



1950: p - P- m - 



Peanuts, commercial 0. 07 



Soils, commercial fields . 04 



1951: 



Peanuts, commercial . 16 



f * 33 

 Peanuts, Holland samples < 2 71 



f * 58 

 Soils, Holland samples < 2' q\ 



1952: 



Peanuts, South Carolina samples .06 



Soils, South Carolina, spring .04 



Soils, South Carolina, fall . 05 



1 Cotton treated with 127 pounds of 3-5-40 dust; 3.8 pounds of gamma BHC 

 per acre. 



2 Cotton treated with 171 pounds of 3-5-40 dust; 5.1 pounds of gamma BHC 

 per acre. 



