The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1877-06-21

Practical Views of Paris Green
IT'S USES AND ABUSES AS SET FORTE
BY MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS.
The ravages. Of the potato bug, and
the cautions Of the doeton, have conn
bined 70 draw public attention to. thu
beautiful pirment. Paris rreen. . known
IN England = emerald srcen. ana Oh
the Continent = BoheIs's ereon. 'Botk
!. the potato bugs and the 'dostors .aEres
psrtsi in scisnce con tend that Che bug
views: According to the medical NO
ulty this paints when used a. colorine
matter on wall papers, Is q deadly
poison, and fatal in time 10 the occu'
panta Of Q room wh0se walls are decor
ated with It.. Soientists differ with
the doctors, and the manufacturers,
who make, handle, and sell It. by tLt
hundreds Of tons, endorse the men 81
science. The rOpinioM Of President
Chandler Is in harmony with that Of
the great dealers In paints. "A, report
er inquired Of Deyoe h Co., manufac-
turers Of Paris green, and nom Mr.,
Page Of that firm gathered the, follow.
ing facts: gns.ftt ~ iirids i
i~@Paris green Is strictly q chemical
product, into the manufacture Of which
sal soda, arsenic, aoetic acid, and sui
phate Of copper must of necessity enter
as ingredients. It takes ten days to
make II, 1t costs q cents pound ia
make, and Is ordinarily sold for %
cents; but the present bug fever has
sent Il up, 30 that itranges all the way
from 35 cents to so cents per pound.
In the season of three months fully q
million pounds are sold for the killing
Of bugs, and about 4OO, 900 for use in
wall papers. In our Horatio street
factory we employ great many men
in manufacturing Paris green, and
with ordinary precauti0n there Ii no
danger whatever in handling It. In
the boiling room, where the, STUFF Is
run through selves, and the atmos-
phere is charged with the dust. the
men are compelled to keep q sponge
wet with water under their nostrlls,
and To wear o linen suit over their
clothing. II they neglect these pre-
cautions they have blotches on their
hands and face, and occasional eruP.
lions on their bodies. 81 ~,
There IL q very active demand for
Paris green just now from Pennsylvar
MIA, New jersey, New York ana
Michigan. The bugs came here In
armies, and millions Of them went I'm
to the ocean. Now they seem to be on
their way back. They are going West
and we are shippingto Iowa, and even
farther on" 80 A.. f4raiy ~
ReporterLThe Massachusetts, people
appear to think Paris green Is liable to
kin or injure the potato crop. What
do you think? ae y 0tli 81
Mr.. Page-That's nonsense. lao
cording to the report Of Mr.. McMurtie,
Commissioner Of Agriculture, 1t would
be necessary to use 200 pounds TO Inn
pregnate an acre Of land with Paris
green, whereas one pound Is frequent.
ly found sufficient to clear an acre of
the bugs. Prof. Cook OF Lansing,
Michigan, says there are two methods
of using Paris green for the bugs: to
mix the green with water, q teaspoon
full to ten quarts Of water, or mix the
green with flour. In the first instance
q common sprinkler can be used In
the other amuslin bag or pail with o
fine wire gapze bottom. When these
methods are used the expense for ma
terial and cost of application will not
exceed IS an acre for the season.
RepOrter-D0 you sell much Of che
green? n
Mr.. Page-Un, yes, an immense
quantity, and, like all other dealers,
are driven night and day to complete
our orders. We contend that pure
Paris green-not necessarily ours, you
know-can be safely made and safely
handled. Common sense and pru-
dence are necessary In Its use, as In
all other powerful compounds.
The firm of Masury q Co., on Du-
ane street, deal very largely In Paris
green. and Mr.. Mas1ry, Sr.. has made
Il and its uses study for many years.
A reporter questioned him in refer
ence to the subject. He said: 80
/ have no patience with men of
science, who scare the people through
ignorance. We expect nonsense from
doctors; but sclentists ought to know
what they are talking about. Paris
green has been In use In, this country
about thirty-five years, and reached
its maximum Of consumption as q
paint about twenty years ago. Bad
Paris green fades and changes almost
Immediately; good Paris green lasts.
There are points about this pigment
which ordinary men do not recognize.
Paris green Is coarse In grain, translu-
cent, and non-dryer. It's defects are
many, it's merits few; but these few
throw all competitors in the shade.
Paris green precipitates from Its solu-
ton in crystalline form, and the crys.
tails differ from each other Hike the
grains Of sand on the sea shore. These
crystals are semi-transparent and re-
fleet their color only when unbroken.n
Reporter-What does It look like?
Mr.. Masury-Very fine sand, such
a. is used In hour glasses, seems more
analogous to II than anything else. q
Reporter-Is the arsenic the poison
ing property which is supposed to
affect the air from the wall papers?
Mr.. Masury.--A great deal of nom
sense has been said and written In ref
erence to the poisonous nature Of
arsenite Of copper. One would con-
clude that an Inhalation of air which
had been In contact with Paris green
was more deadly than the breath Of
the tabled upas tree. Why, In o re-
cent scientific convention, one Of the
learned professors remarked "that
there are well-authenticated cases Of
poisoning by arsenic through the Paris
green present as q stain In the wall
paper" Until IL can be shown that
there inheres In this pigment q power
to overcome the vis-inertid Of the matt
ter, and break the bonds whereby It II
held to the paper, and then diffhse IL
self as q yap0r throughout the atmos.
phere, it' Is contrary TO- reason and
senve TO conclude that any case OF sick.
ness cam be caused by the presence Of
Paris green In the paper. There IL no
reason to suppose that this salt under
goes any change when exposed to the
air. On the contrary, 1t Is inert and
Interchangeable to the last degree. Hele
IL sample of Paris green made In
twenty. years ago. !, IT has
been exposed 10 every days sunlight
and cir, and has undergone no change.
Men work and live In Paris green fac
tories in good health for years. The
atmosphere il saturated with this VIII