34 PREVENTIVE AND REMEDIAL WORK AGAINST MOSQUITOES. 



States Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, has been pub- 

 lished. The conclusions reached by Doctor Berry are as follows: 



1. Culicide, in the proportion of 4 ounces per 1,000 cubic feet, used for two hours 

 with apparatus similar to that used by us, kills Culex pungens, Stegomyia, and Ano- 

 pheles maculipennis and temporarily stuns the house fly. 



2. In the proportion of 3 ounces to 1,000 cubic feet it does not always kill the 

 Anopheles maculipennis. 



3. Culicide takes fire spontaneously if heated sufficiently. It is therefore neces- 

 sary to keep the liquid at a certain distance from the flame; it is also better to have 

 more than one basin in a large space, and about 8 ounces is the maximum quantity 

 to use in one pan. All large cracks must be pasted up — the doors and windows, if loose 

 fitting. Gummed paper spread under a window left light would be of great benefit. 

 (I concur with Passed Assistant Surgeon Goldberger as to the closing up of large 

 cracks, but more for preventing weakening of the strength of the gas in the room 

 by diffusion than from any belief that insects might escape from the room.) 



4. In the minds of intelligent operators, and used according to the methods em- 

 ployed by us, it ranks next to sulphur as an insecticide in practical fumigation. 



5. Culicide vaporizes and later cools, condensing on exposed surfaces again as it 

 cools. Whether in this way it injures articles of gilt and the like was not investigated. 

 In practical work the only articles removed from rooms were foodstuffs and animal 

 pets, and no complaint of injury was received. It gradually evaporates, leaving a 

 persistent, though not disagreeable, odor. 



As to the cost, with the present high prices of the ingredients of Culicide the cost of 

 fumigating a room with 4 ounces to 1,000 cubic feet is 16 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, as 

 compared with sulphur at 7 cents and pyrethrum at 50 cents, using 2 pounds of each 

 of the latter per 1,000 cubic feet. The estimate does not take into consideration 

 the alcohol used to evaporate the Culicide, but this is not much more, if any, than 

 that used to ignite pyrethrum or sulphur pots. A further saving in favor of Culicide 

 is that the apparatus can be easily carried in the hands from place to place. Had 

 sulphur been used in the instances cited a wagon would have been necessary to trans- 

 port the materials, which were, in the case of Culicide, conveyed in street cars. The 

 gang would have had to be larger to move the many articles from a house necessary 

 to be removed in sulphur fumigation, to say nothing of the larger amount of pasting to 

 be done. Likewise, at the end of the fumigation the time required to remove the 

 apparatus from the room is much less. For this and other reasons, if the cost of the 

 labor is counted, I do not believe Culicide is much more expensive than sulphur, 

 and if the cost of the articles damaged by sulphur is considered, the difference would 

 be in favor of Culicide. 



PYROFUME. 



Dr. J. H. McCormack, of Mobile, Ala., has discovered that pyro- 

 fume, derived by a fractional distillation from pine wood, as a by- 

 product in the manufacture of turpentine, is a valuable and good 

 fumigant for mosquitoes. It is a clear liquid of a straw color; has a 

 pungent taste, and the odor of pine woods. It is said to be harmless 

 to mucous membranes, skin, fabrics, colors, polished metal, and 

 painted woodwork. A report of the experiments with this sub- 

 stance by Passed Assistant Surgeon Francis of the United States 

 Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, has been published. 6 



« Public Health Reports for February 2, 1906, vol. 21, No. 5, pages 83-S 

 b Public Health Reports, June 29, 1906, vol. 21, No. 26, pp. 711-712. 



