Chlorin gas has a strong bleaching action upon textile fabrics, and for this reason can not be used in many situations.
Sulphur dioxid also has a bleaching effect upon textiles, but less marked than that of chlorin, and ordinarily it is not noticeable with the small percentage of the gas it is necessary to use. On the whole, this gas has many advantages as a fumigator and disinfectant. It is used also as a fire extinguisher on board vessels. Special furnaces for generating the gas and forcing it into the compartments of ships and buildings are on the market, and many steamships and docks are now fitted with the necessary apparatus.
RAT VIRUSES.
Several microorganisms, or bacteria, found originally in diseased rats or mice, have been exploited for destroying rats. A number of these so-called rat viruses are on the American market. The Biological Survey, the Bureau of Animal Industry, and the United States Public Health Service have made careful investigations and practical tests of these viruses, mostly with negative results. The cultures tested by the Biological Survey have not proved satisfactory.
The chief defects to be overcome before the cultures can be recommended for general use are:
1. The virulence is not great enough to kill a sufficiently high percentage of rats that eat food containing the microorganisms.
2. The virulence decreases with the age of the cultures. They deteriorate in warm weather and in bright sunlight.
3. The diseases resulting from the microorganisms are not contagious and do not spread by contact of diseased with healthy animals.
4. The comparative cost of the cultures is too great for general use. Since they have no advantages over the common poisons, except that they are usually harmless to man and other animals, they should be equally cheap; but their actual cost is much greater. Moreover, considering the skill and care necessary in their preparation, it is doubtful if the cost can be greatly reduced.
The Department of Agriculture, therefore, does not prepare, use, or recommend the use of rat viruses.