Arsenic Experiments

The great value of arsenic in the forms of Paris green and London purple for the destruction of leaf-eating insects has long been recognized. As pure white arsenic in solution is occasionally recommended to take the place of the above named arsenites, and as I have been repeatedly urged to recommend its use on account of its greater strength and cheapness, the following experiments were mailed for the purpose of determining whether or not it can be safely used in this way for insecticidal purposes: One part of arsenic is soluble in 10 parts of boiling water and in 100 parts of cold water, the solution being as clear as the water used and remaining for an indefinite length of time without any sediment forming. In order to have solutions of known strength throughout, one ounce of arsenic was in each case dissolved in a gallon of boiling water for a standard solution, and from this solutions of desired strengths were mad