OF WASHINGTON. 7 



Dr. Howard related an interesting case in which mosquitoes 

 had been made the subject of a law-suit. There was an outbreak 

 of malaria in Greensboro, N. C., which was attributed to Anoph 

 eles breeding in a mill pond owned by Cone Bros., of that 

 place. An injunction was sought against these gentlemen, by 

 the State board of health, to restrain them from maintaining the 

 dam and pond. To abolish this would have entailed the ruin of 

 the community. Cone Bros., therefore, engaged expert entomolo 

 gists, among whom were the narrator and Mr. F. C. Pratt, who 

 demonstrated that while Anopheles was breeding in every pool in 

 and about the village, not a single larva was to be found in the mill 

 pond. Upon a question from Mr. Benton, Dr. Howard explained 

 that this was partly because the water surface of the mill pond was 

 so large as to be constantly disturbed by rain and wind, rendering 

 it unsuitable for the breeding of mosquitoes. Cone Bros, further 

 offered prizes of $50 to the physicians of the village, some 13 

 in number, for every Anopheles larva they could find in the 

 pond. Only one of them succeeded in finding a dilapidated 

 Anopheles larva, for which he duly received his prize. Six of 

 these physicians then served as witnesses for the defendant, and the 

 case ultimately grew so strong against the State that it was dis 

 missed. 



Mr. Schwarz stated that on his return from Cuba he stopped 

 for a short time at Key West, Fla., to collect certain Scolytid 

 beetles which he discovered there in 1887. To his sorrow he 

 found that all the fig-trees, mastic-trees and various other tropical 

 trees had been cut down and Scolytids had disappeared from the 

 island. Some other interesting insects were found, however. 

 For some years a flowering tree of large size ( Cordia sebestana] 

 had been introduced into the gardens of Key West, and the leaves 

 of this tree were being devoured by a large Cassidid beetle (Eury- 

 peplajamaicensis Linnaeus) , Which has hitherto not been noticed 

 from the United States. Both the plant and the beetle are now 

 thoroughly acclimatized in Key West. All over the island of 

 Cuba blossoms of the cultivated egg-plant were infested by a 

 little weevil (Anthonomus varipes Duval). The original wild 

 food-plant of the species was found to be an arborescent solana- 

 ceous plant (Solatium torvum) . This same weed had of late 



