1893-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II 



number. The ears were picked up at a husking in Cumberland County, 

 and they were, unfortunately, by no means exceptional specimens. The 

 outer rows had been injured to a very considerable extent, but damage 

 decreased rapidly toward the centre of the field, indicating that the in- 

 sects had come on from the outside. But it was not on corn that the 

 greatest money injury was caused by the pest, but on tomatoes. Dr. 

 Riley has given a very characteristic figure of the larva on tomato, and I 

 had abundant opportunity of verifying its fondness for that fruit or vege- 

 table. Early tomatoes are a very important feature in the money crop 

 of the farmers of southern New Jersey, and they force their plants along 

 as rapidly as possible to get the high prices ruling for early specimen/;. 

 Late in June and early in July, they realize as much for a quart as they do 

 a month later for a bushel. In 1892 more than sixty per cent, of the very 

 earliest tomatoes were destroyed by this larva, and a money loss was 

 caused totally disproportionate to the actual percentage of the crop in- 

 jured. The same larva would sometimes enter two or even three toma- 

 toes in succession, and even where little eating was done, the rain and 

 dew entering, caused decay. Early in July the larvae were maturing rap- 

 idly, and the next brood, finding an abundance of sweet corn, neglected 

 the tomatoes, which were not thereafter disturbed, nor did I find the larva? 

 except on corn when this was available. 



To deal with the insects on the tomato is not easy. Spraying with the 

 kerosene emulsion has been attempted with some success, and pyrethrum 

 has been used to some advantage. Yet the measure of success attained 

 was not such as would authorize us to advise the use of either with con- 

 fidence. In my opinion the insect should be dealt with in the corn-fields 

 by means of thorough fall or winter plowing. It is too much the practice 

 to leave the corn stocks in the ground over winter, and the insects, which 

 pass the winter in the pupa stage some four to six inches underground, 

 are left undisturbed until spring, when they are ready to emerge. Fall 

 plowing would turn many of these pupae to the surface and would break 

 up the cells of others, so that the earth would come into direct contact 

 with them and by its alternate freezing and thawing would destroy them. 



The Pear-Tree Psylla. This is the title of Bulletin 44 from the Entomo- 

 logical division of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 and it is written by Mr. M. Y. Slingerland, Prof. Comstock's assistant. 

 Mr. Slingerland draws a vivid picture of the injury caused by the insect, 

 explains how it is done, give us a very complete life-history, and finds 

 that the kerosene emulsion even when greatly diluted, twenty-five times, 

 is effective in destroying the nyrriphs. Perhaps the most interesting part 

 of the paper is the result or non-result of the use of a variety of insecti- 

 cides on the eggs of this species. It was found that kerosene, kerosene 

 emulsion, turpentine, turpentine emulsion, ben/ine, crude carbolic acid 

 emulsion diluted ten times, resinwash of triple strength, whale-oil soap 

 and sulphide of potash wash double strength, were all equally ineffective. 

 The result was somewhat of a surprise, and yet may be explained by the 



