51 
must be handled with great care. The burning of sulphur 
in infested mills has been attended with both good and evil results. 
The experience of the millers cited below, should be sufficient 
warning for all those who may resort to this method for the sup¬ 
pression of insect pests. Tfre experience of an English miller, as 
related by Miss Ormerod in her Fourteenth Report (p. 58), is 
given in the following paragraph: “But we found that sulphuring 
has an effect wffiich we did not anticipate or wish. We had stand¬ 
ing in the mill when the fumigation was carried on, some eighty 
or a hundred sacks of flour, and we fkd to our dismay that the 
sulphur has penetrated right into these, and acted on the gluten 
of the flour in such a manner as to apparently break up all 
soluble albuminoids, and render the dough made from it more 
like a lot of weak putty than the strong, tough dough our customers 
require.” 
In May, 1892, the manager of a San Francisco mill, who tried 
the burning of sulphur in his mill for the destruction of the 
flour moth, wrote' me as follows: “The fumes of the sulphur 
acting on the different cereals, destroys certain properties of the 
grain and flour, rendering both useless for bread-making purpo¬ 
ses. On our first application of the sulphur fumes we nearly destroyed 
about a thousand barrels of flour. This was very discouraging 
and has since prevented us from applying that gas in so exten¬ 
sive a manner as is necessary to fully exterminate the moths.” 
Even after this sad experience, the same miller is of the opinion 
that sulphur is the best remedy for keeping the pest in check 
when used in the proper manner. 
Another California miller, who has had much experience fighting 
the moth, writes me as follows: “We cannot use sulphur in the 
mill any more without taking out all the flour and grain that we 
usually carry in stock. We find that the fumes of sulphur de¬ 
stroy the vitality of the flour by some chemical action rendering 
the flour worthless for bread-making purposes. They also destroy 
the value of the wheat for flour-making purposes, as the flour 
made from fumigated wheat makes no better bread than the fumi¬ 
gated flour.” 
Other instances ot this nature might be given, but these will 
suffice. In preparing to sulphur a mill the stock should be 
run down as low as possible, and all flour and wheat removed 
before the sulphur is ignited. Care should be taken also to see 
that all windows, doors, and other openings are closed. Various 
ways have been suggested and tried for burning sulphur. A 
California miller outlines his method as follows: “Cur method 
of using the fumes of sulphur is to take an iron pot, set the 
same in a can of water, put in a quantity of sulphur, or pulverized 
brimstone, pour over it some alcohol and set the same on fire. 
Then close up everything tight, so that the fumes cannot escape. 
This will kill every living thing with which the gas comes in con¬ 
tact. We have frequently found dead mice on the floor after hav¬ 
ing fumigated the place. We use this sulphur in parts of the 
mill which can be tightly closed so as to prevent the escape of 
the fumes.” 
