RED-SQUILL POWDERS AS RATICIDES 23 
Table 10. — Effect of semicommercial preparation on toxicity of red-squill powders 
Run No. 
Sample 
No. 
Color of bulbs 
Fermentation 
Minimum 
lethal dose 
1_ 
P. a 
( 724A 
J 724B 
1 725A 
I 725B 
760 
770 
f 775 
\ 767 
I 768 
None 
Mg. per 
kgm. oj 
body 
weight 
600 
750 
500 
625 
500 
750 
G25 
750 
750 
do 
Slight 
2. 
Whitish pink and pink red 
do 
None 
Slight.- 
Mixed .-. .- -- 
None - 
3. 
do 
do 
4. 
do 
do 
Whitish pink and pink red _ . 
Acetic acid. 
Deep red and nearly red 
do 
For the first trial run, the outer scales were removed from about 
150 kilograms of fresh bulbs, which were then arbitrarily divided 
into two groups, deep red and nearly red (P. C. 724), and whitish 
pink and pink red (P. C. 725). One portion of each group w^as sliced, 
weighed, placed directly in the oven, and dried, at temperatures rang- 
ing from 68° to 75° C, the average being 72°, The remainder was 
sliced, weighed, and left exposed to the air for four days. Slight 
fermentation had started when the material was loaded into the oven 
and dried at the same temperature as the first group. 
For the second run (P. C. 760) a composite of 250 Idlograms of 
bulbs, irrespective of color, was used. The outer husks were removed, 
and the bulbs were sHced into large chunks. The weighed material 
was dried at once at a temperature ranging from 70° to 80° C. 
For the third rim (P. C. 770) a composite was made from 2 sack- 
fuls of bulbs. A machine was employed to make uniform shces ap- 
proximately a quarter of an inch thick. This brought out much of 
the mucilaginous material from the bulbs and reduced them to a more 
sHmy consistency before drying. Conditions were therefore unin- 
tentionally made more favorable for fermentation. The use of sharp 
instruments in sHcing the bulbs is advisable to avoid bringing out an 
excess of the mucilaginous juices. During the first three days of 
drying the oven temperature was maintained at 40° to 50° C. On 
the fourth day it was brought up to 80°, where it was held during the 
rest of the drjdng period. 
One portion of the fourth run (P. C. 775) consisted of the remainder 
of the bulbs used in the preparation of P. C. 770. They were also 
finely sHced. In addition, bulbs that had been stored at 4° to 5° C. 
for three months were used. Fermentation during storage had been 
marked. The bulbs were soft and spongy, with the leaves separat- 
ing, and were dripping mucilaginous slime. Tw^o composites were 
made. The whitish pink (P. C. 720) and pink red (P. C. 721) groups 
were consoHdated as P. C. 768; the deep red (P. C. 722) and nearly 
red (P. C. 723) groups were consolidated as P. C. 767. The spongy 
bulbs were sliced onto a tray and placed directly in the oven to dry. 
During the fourth run the oven temperature was held at approxi- 
mately 80° C. 
Although the temperature was not held so constant as in the elec- 
tric oven, the products obtained in the steam oven corresponded 
reasonably well in toxicity with corresponding samples from the same 
composite dried in the electric oven. Thus, the minimum lethal dose 
