220 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



One of the most serious injuries caused by this insect is to 

 park-lands in Eastern Massachusetts, where thousands of acres 

 are infested by its countless swarms. So numerous indeed is 

 the pest that the ordinary methods of destruction become almost 

 impracticable owing to the enormous expense of their applica- 

 tion. Under these circumstances it is recommended to cut and 

 burn all low covert, as well as refuse generally, and likewise to 

 fell and destroy all old and decayed timber containing cavities 

 suitable for the moths. Efforts are also being made to introduce 

 parasites infesting the species in Europe, in the hope that these 

 may aid in checking its spread in America. 



To refer to many of the other lines of investigation carried 

 out by the Bureau would far exceed our limits of space, and it 

 must therefore suffice to allude only to a few of the more 

 interesting cases. 



During the year 1880 the south of Louisiana experienced a 

 visitation of the sugar-cane beetle (Liguras rugiccps) of such 

 severity that many planters gave up growing sugar and turned 

 their attention to rice, this being especially the case in the 

 Mississippi valley, north of New Orleans. Further investigation 

 showed that this beetle had done great damage at irregular 

 intervals to both sugar-cane and corn crops from about the year 

 1856 onwards ; the injury being in some instances so great that 

 nearly all the crops were cut down. In 1904 a special study of 

 the beetle and its mode of attack was made, in the hope that 

 this might lead to effectual preventive measures. 



In addition to the boll-weevil, Mexico is afflicted with 

 another cotton-pest in the form of a large plant-bug, locally 

 known as the conchuela, and scientifically as Pentatoma ligata. 

 During an unusually severe visitation which occurred recently, 

 the opportunity was taken of making a thorough investigation 

 of the habits and life-history of this insect, which may quite 

 possibly ere long make its way into Texas. 



Among a number of insects inflicting more or less serious 

 injury on garden crops in North America, one of the most 

 generally interesting is the species whose caterpillar is known 

 as the fall army-worm {Laphigma fnigipcrda), so called from the 

 fact that, unlike the true army-worm, it does not usually make 

 its appearance in swarms until the autumn. As a rule, the 

 caterpillar confines its attention to grass, but when, as was 

 the case in the autumn of 1899, it appears in countless myriads, 



