“SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
aa ~ ——\_= 
American machines, only one foreign type, the F.I.A.T., was entered ; 
in future years it is to be expected that French and other continenta} 
manufacturers will be represented, and a great deal may be learnt bot), 
by British manufacturers and farmers who have hitherto in the mattey 
of tractors gone to school almost exclusively in America. 
AIR-TIGHT STORAGE DESTROYS GRAIN INSECTS. 
It is concluded from experiments described in the Report of the 
‘Grain Pests (War) Committee that hermetical sealing will probably — 
prove to be effective on a large scale as a remedy for badly-weeviled 
grain, as well as a preventive measure. The carbon dioxide given olf 
by the grain as well as by the weevils themselves acts as a narcotic On 
the weevils, eventually killing them, but exercises no detrimental effect 
on the grain unless it is stored for longer than two years, when its 
germinating power becomes affected. The time taken to bring about 
the complete destruction of the insects seems to depend chiefly upoy 
the relative volume of air present. 
INSECT PEST CHANGES DIET. 
A striking instance of quick adaptability to new food plants is 
furnished by the United States Department of Agriculture in a recent — 
bulletin dealing with the grain bug (chlorochroa say’). This bug hag 
become a serious pest in many of the wheat and other grain-growing 
States of recent years, owing to the cultivation of large areas formerly 
devoted to grazing. The insect at once’ accommodated itself to the 
change from native weeds to succulent crops, and with better facilities 
for hibernation has increased in a marked degree. The young nymphs — 
feed and develop on the young shoots of Russian thistle or other early 
developing plants, and upon reaching maturity the. adults of the first 
generation migrate to fields of grain, and feed on the tender stems and 
heads until the grain ripens. 
ANTI-MALARIA WORK IN THE HEGEAN. 
Malaria conditions in the A®gean Islands when the R.N.A.S. aero- 
dromes and airship stations were constructed there in 1916-1918 were 
such that a very high sick rate was immediately reported. In one 
case a military guard of eighty-four was reduced to fourteen effectives: 
after a few weeks, the malaria proving of a particularly malignant — 
type. It was therefore decided to undertake drainage of the marshes 
before the summer of 1917. Supplies of quinine, netting, oil, paraffin, — 
and implement were obtained. The channels were sprayed once a | 
week, after clearing the surface of weeds, with heavy Burma oil, mixed 
in equal parts with low-graded paraffin, half a pint of the mixture 
being used per 100 square feet of surface. The first mosquitoes ap- 
peared in June, 1917, and no cases of malaria occurred until July, 1917. — 
This was due to the bombing of the aerodrome, the men being com- 
pelled to spend several nights in mosquito-infested dugouts. By April, 
1918, the marsh was completely dug, and no malaria occurred among 
the men. In describing this work the author mentions that satisfactory 
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