23 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 



larva of one of the Muscid flies. Wherever the bulb was exposed, 

 masses of white eggs were to be found, and soon the maggots were at 

 work aiding the disease. Usually the maggots were accused of being the 

 authors of the injury, but erroneously so. I have frequently noticed in 

 other connections that the slightest trace of a soft rot, whether caused by 

 a fungus or bacteria, attracted insects who were then, frequently, charged 

 with all the injury caused. On the other hand, insect injury very often 

 served to give entrance to the germs of plant disease, and the latter finishes 

 what the first began. In the tomato field a fruit bitten into by the larva 

 of Heliothis armiger is almost certain to become victim to bacterial de- 

 -cay, and to infect every other fruit with which it is in contact. 



The lesson of this is, of course, to have plants that are healthy. This 

 is much more often within the control of the farmer than is thought at first 

 sight, especially in all crops that are set out. It is too much the practice 

 to put out weaklings, with the idea that they will catch up with the others 

 later on. They may, and often really clo so, but more usually they fall 

 victim to disease and insects, or give only a very inferior yield. 



Insects and parasitic diseases work hand in hand, and either will follow 

 the other as the case may be. The true theory is to give neither a foot- 

 hold if possible. 



Vitality in Insects. Instances of great vitality in insects are not rare, 

 but I was quite surprised at the resistance offered by a Muscid larva which 

 I found in decaying onions. I wished to preserve a few specimens, and 

 placed them in a dish containing ninety-five per cent, alcohol, expecting 

 to find them dead in a few minutes. Half an hour thereafter they were 

 yet very lively, and were squirming about at a great rate. I removed 

 some of them to a mixture containing acetic acid 25 per cent., alcohol 

 25 per cent., water 50 per cent., and added an alcoholic solution of eosin 

 to those left in the original liquid. About two hours thereafter the speci- 

 mens were yet alive and those in the stained liquid has assumed a pretty 

 red tint, that extended, apparently, to some of the internal structures. 

 Punctured two specimens and the}' died almost immediately. Those in 

 the acetic acid solution were not dead when I left the laboratory, but were 

 dead next morning. This experiment was rather interesting, and I placed 

 a number of the maggots in a hellebore decoction one ounce to one 

 gallon of water. They lived in this half a day or more, and in a decoction 

 of double that strength lived several hours. Afterward, I poured over a 

 few infested onions fully half a pint of the one ounce to one gallon de- 

 coction, and twenty-four hours thereafter no ill effects were noted on the 

 specimens. Placed several of the maggots in a solution of kainit two 

 ounces to one pint of water, and in this they lived thirty-six hours; took 

 them out, placed them on a dry board and covered with a glass dish, 

 under which they lived yet twenty-four hours, one of them changing to a 

 pupa during that time. A solution of nitrate of soda, one ounce to one 

 quart of water, killed all that were placed in it within thirty-six hours. 



These experiments become interesting from the fact that Mr. Fletcher 



