Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1894-05-19
FARM Notes.
NEVADA AGRICUL.TURA EX-
PERTINENT STATION
rs There Danger Of Poisoning From
Eating sprayed Fruity

Kept many from using THIS Valua-
BILE method of combating insect
foes. To allay any such fears, and
thus perhaps prevent the disuse of
insecticide sprays in many cases
where they are really needed, this
newspaper bulletin is published.
The o ly sprays used as insecticides
which are at all dangerous to use
are the arsenic compounds, and the
copper compounds, though these
latter are much less poisonous than
the former. Both Paris green and
London purple have been used ex-
tensively for many years in this
country as insecticides and case
of fatal poisoning has yet to be re-
corded. The great danger lies in
having the poison about the ranch
IN bulk. The supposed danger has
developed great deal of opposition
to the use of Paris green, and it has
been but year or so since the sa lie
of American apples in English
markets received a setback from
this supposed danger of arsenical
poisoning from their consumption.
1t was shown in 1878 by McMur-
trie, of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture, that the most rigorous
chemical analysis detects no ARISEN
ic III the composition of plants
taken from a sol so saturated with
Paris green that the plants wilted
from it's influence, thus it can be
safely assumed that plants and veg
etables can convey the poison to the
consumer only through the very
small quantity of arsenic which
may be left from spraying on the
edible part of the plant. 1t would
seem at first thought that the use
of Parisgreen on a plant like cab
bage would be very unsafe, but the
absence of danger has been shown
by Professor Gillette, of the Color
ado Station, as follows:
"Where the green is busted from
bag in proportion of one ounce to
one hundred ounces of -four, and
just enough applied to each head
to make a slight show of dust on
the leaves, say, for twenty eight
heads one ounce of the mixture,
the worms will all be killed in two
or three days, while the average
amount of poison on each head
will be about one seventh of
grain. Fully half the powder will
tall on the outside leaves and the
ground, and thus a person would
have to eat about twenty-eight
heads of cabbage to consume a
pisonous dose of arsenic, even if the
balance of the poison remained
after cooking"
In the case of spraying apple or
chards there is scarcely possibility
of injury to the consumer, for
where the poison is used in proper
ton of one pound to two hundred
gallons of water the arsenic will be
20 distributed that it will be impos-
sible for sufficient quantity to col
lect upon any given apple to have
the slightest injurious effect upon
the consumer. In fact an individ-
ual would have t" eat several bar
rels of apples at single meal to
absorb a fatal dose An expert
ment showing the minute quantity
of arsenic used to one tree in an
ordinary spraying was made by
Professor A. j. Cook of Michigan.
He placed thick paper under tree
and thoroughly sprayed the tree on
windy day SO that the dripping
was excessive. After dripping had
ceased, the paper Covering seven
ty-two square feet), was analysed
and four-tenths grains OF arsenic
found.
In regard to copper solutions it
may be said that the amount of
copper found on grapes intelligent
ly sprayed is rarely more than five
milligrams (0.005) per kilogram
(about two pounds) the average is
q to 5 milligrams per kilogram.
In other words 100000 pounds OF
grapes sprayed in the usual way
with Bordeaux mixture would con-
tain 2! to pounds of copper. Ac-
cording to Gautbier, Professor of
chemistry of the Faculty of Medi-
oipa Paris an admit oan absorb