1899] ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 179 



numerous enough to cause a plague. The continued spread and 

 destruction caused by the pest attracted the attention of the State 

 Legislature in 1890, which voted 25,000 dollars for exterminative 

 work. This work continues to be prosecuted diligently, and with the 

 last year's grant of 200,000 dollars and expected aid for the next year 

 or two, the Commission appointed hope to exterminate the pest. 



This moth has a bad reputation on the Continent for damage to 

 forests, but in England it is said to be rapidly disappearing, being no 

 longer found in localities where some time ago there was no difficulty 

 in procuring specimens. 



Mosquitoes and how to get rid of them forms the subject of another 

 article in the report. Some time ago a paragraph went the round of 

 the newspapers stating, among other things, that permanganate of 

 potash in very dilute solution was fatal to mosquitoes in all stages 

 of their life. One part of permanganate in 1500 of solution was said 

 to render the development of the larvae impossible, while a handful 

 thrown into a ten-acre swamp was said to be sufficient to kill the 

 larvae and keep the swamp clear of mosquitoes for a month, and all 

 this at a cost of only twenty-five cents. Although other statements in 

 the paragraph suggested the unreliability and worthlessness of the 

 whole, Dr. Howard, of the Entomological Department in the United 

 States, who was investigating the mosquito problem at the time, made 

 some experiments with permanganate of potash of various strengths, 

 and found that small amounts had no effect whatever against the pest. 

 As a matter of fact, a waggon-load of permanganate would be required 

 to kill in a ten-acre swamp, and as the water at the end of twenty- 

 four hours is in a condition fit to support mosquito life again, the 

 treatment would require to be repeated every two days. Experiments 

 continue to be made under Dr. Howard's direction, paraffin being 

 allowed to cover the surface of the water in marshy places during the 

 mosquito breeding-season. The botanist, however, has complained on 

 the score that the oil was very destructive to water plants. 



An interesting little sermon, entitled " Entomological Ethics," was 

 preached by Mr. T. D. A. Cockerell, who, among other matters, dis- 

 coursed on the question of private ownership and State property in 

 connection with the materials sent for examination to the various 

 State departments, from the text of St. Paul to the Eomans, " What 

 then ? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace ? 

 God forbid ! " 



Great Auks in Ireland. 



The Irish Naturalist for January contains two short papers on the 

 occurrence of the Great Auk in the North and South of Ireland, by 

 Messrs. E. J. Ussher and W. J. Knowles. 



