86 
able odor is much less persistent in the goods than is that of 
moth balls or tarred paper. If pure carbon bisulphid is used 
it will not stain or injure the most delicate articles. 
USE AGAINST OTHER HOUSEHOLD INSECTS. 
Among the many insects which often abound in houses there 
appear to be very few which are not amenable to successful 
treatment in the manner already described for buildings. Cock- 
roaches, croton bugs, bed bugs, fleas, carpet beetles, etc., can 
all be destroyed in tight rooms by a liberal use of the liquid. 
The holds of ships are frequently cleared of pests in this manner. 
DESTROYING MUSEUM PESTS. 
Carbon bisulphid is quite generally used for the destruction 
of a number of insect pests which are included under this head- 
ing. Specimens are nearly always inclosed in fairly tight 
showcases or trays and can be very rapidly treated by inserting 
the necessary amount' of liquid and closing the doors or replacing 
the covers. In many museums a general annual treatment is 
given as a measure of safety, even though no enemy is known 
to be present. 
INCIDENTAL EFFECTS OF TREATMENT 
WITH CARBON BISULPHID. 
INFLUENCE UPON THE GROWTH OF CROPS. 
As a general rule, the crops grown upon soil treated with 
carbon bisulphid are very good. This fact suggests several 
questions: Is the vapor itself a vegetable excitant? Does it 
produce chemical decompositions which render more assimilable 
certain nutritive elements already present in the soil? Has it 
some particular effect upon the humus? Or is its benefit wholly 
due to the destruction of the lower plant and animal organisms 
which, living in the soil upon the roots of the plants, steal 
nourishment therefrom and thus weaken the vitality of their 
host? None of these questions seems to have been satisfactorily 
answered. However, it is an acknowledged fact that the growth 
following treatment is unusually good, and the few records which 
we find indicate that the increase is considerable. Treatment 
of a corn field yielded an increase of 46 8 per cent, in the grain 
and ?1 73 per cent, in the stover. Potatoes showed an increase 
in weight varying from 5.3 per cent, to 38.7 per cent. In a series 
of experiments upon corn. oats, beets, potatoes and clover much 
the same results were obtained, but, stranee as it may seem, 
the most marked increase was in the clover. It was found that 
the vapor was not detrimental to the active bacteria causing 
the nodules upon the roots of this legume, but rather seemed 
to favor their multiplication. Furthermore, it was found upon 
these same plats that the beneficient Influence of the treatment 
was quite apparent the following year, though less marked than 
it had been the first year. 
