Abstract
IN a report from Science Service (Washington, D.C.) dated April 25 a patent is announced, and briefly described, embodying the application of insecticides by means of shells discharged from a kind of gun. The idea is an American invention, which claims that shot-gun shells can be loaded with compressed wads of insecticide instead of lead shot. When such a shell is fired, the force of the explosion ejects a wad like a bullet, and when it has travelled a certain distance, it breaks down into a cloud of ultra-fine dust. The distance at which the dissolution of the wad will occur depends upon its make-up?its compactness and moisture content. This distance, it is claimed, can be calculated so that the dust cloud can be discharged on a desired tree or crop. The advantages of the method, as claimed by the inventor, are safety of the operator from the effects of a toxic dust; elimination of cumbersome and explosive spray or dusting equipment; practically no labour; and effective distribution of an insecticide in otherwise inaccessible places.
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Distribution of Insecticide by Shot-Gun. Nature 138, 23 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138023a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138023a0