Chemical Physical, and Insecticidal Properties of Arsenicals

Abstract

A study of the chemical, physical, and insecticidai properties of arsenicals on the market was undertaken in order to gain a better understanding of them, to be able, if possible, to improve them, and to produce new arsenicals for insecticidai purposes. The results of this investigation, which was conducted by the Bureau of Chemistry and the Bureau of Entomology of the United States Department of Agriculture, are here reported. ARSENICALS STUDIED. Paris green and lead arsenate, which have been standardized and found reliable for many years, have constituted the principal insecticides used against external chewing insects. However, during the past few years, the use of calcium arsenate has steadily increased, owing in part to the discovery that it is effective in combating the boll weevil. The manufacture of calcium arsenate, although well beyond the experimental stage in most factories, probably will not be completely standardized for several years. Because of the importance and recent large-scale production of calcium arsenate, many of the results in this bulletin deal with comparisons of calcium arsenate and acid lead arsenate.