270 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Agriculture, at Paris, are attended to by Doctor Marchal, as 

 stated, without charge. 



In France the great insect question has, for more than a quarter 

 of a century, been the subject of the control of the Phylloxera, 

 and this insect has for years been honored with a special commis 

 sion. This commission, however, is not a permanent organiza 

 tion, but is simply a committee which meets from time to time, 

 having no definite quarters, and subject to constant changes. Its 

 work has been thoroughly explained on this side of the Atlantic 

 and needs no description here. No attempt will be made to enum 

 erate all the stations at whjch entomological work is carried on in 

 France, but later an account will be given of a visit to the viticul- 

 tural station at Villefranche, conducted by M. Vermorel. 



Of insect damage in France the writer can speak of none 

 from personal observations. It is a country of limited extent 

 and with very small holdings, so that insect outbreaks are apt to 

 be early discovered, and the depredators promptly stamped out 

 by hand methods. Our insecticides, arsenical and other, are 

 little known and less employed. Very little real damage of the 

 disastrous sort often witnessed in the United States is ever experi 

 enced. Occasionally there will be an outbreak, as everywhere 

 else, but it is usually short-lived. For example, the gypsy moth 

 was quite troublesome about two years ago in the forests of Fon- 

 tainbleau, but it seemed to have quite disappeared and has not 

 been found at all the present year, and in riding through a por 

 tion of these forests I saw no evidence whatever of injury. This 

 incident illustrates the fact, which was repeatedly impressed, that 

 invasions like that of the gypsy moth or allied forest caterpillars, 

 while they may at times be as severe as is now being experienced 

 about Boston, are not lasting, and the insects disappear naturally 

 of themselves. In northern Italy, for instance, the gypsy moth 

 was reported to be quite abundant last year, but here, again, has 

 apparently entirely disappeared at least nothing could be heard 

 of it ; and in rather extensive traveling over this portion of Italy 

 no indications of damage were noted. 



Among the men who have become prominent in France in con 

 nection with applied entomology and vegetable pathology, there 

 is no name so familiar on this -side of the Atlantic as that of Ver 

 morel, and this holds true, also, for France and southern Europe. 



