New Insecticides
SIR,—I read with dismay Mr. Richard Church's casual reference to spraying black-currant bushes with D.N.O.C.. The perils of modern insecticides and weed-killers are now being plentifully aired in scientific magazines (e.g., Discovery, and the British Medical Journal), as Well as in periodicals devoted to the welfare of the soil. However, to avoid any comeback about laboratory-mindedness, soil-cranks and the like, 1 will quote only a motion sponsored last September by the National Union of Agricultural Workers on the agenda for the Trades Union Congress: "This Congress is seriously perturbed at the totally inade- quate attempts to deal with the growipg menace of poisonous weed- killers aq4 insecticides. Many cases of poisoning and some fatal cases
have fol ed their use in agricultural and horticultural practice. In view of th 'Safeguards necessary, and the fact that the elements can cause the spray to injure the health of workers in adjacent areas, legislation should be intr2duced to prohibit the use of all known toxic prepara- tions such_4s D.N.O.C. and Parathion."—Yours, &c., Dolt's DAvv. Penny Hill, Amberley. Sussex.
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