1899] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. o<)J 



DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, Sc. 0., New Brunswick, N. j. 



Papers for this department an- solicited. They should he sent to the editor 

 I'rof. John 11. Smith. Se. |)...\e\v IJnmswiek, X. J. 



EPHESTIA KI'EIIXIKLI.A AXI ACANTHIA LECTULAKIA. lu couuec- 

 tion with the note contributed by W. G Johnson iu the September 

 number of the EXTOMOUHJK AI. NEW.N it may be of interest for me to 

 add that 'Kftht'xtfn kuchnieUn occurs in this Colony. I have seen fi 

 at several local mills and have been told by millers that it i 

 known in other and distant parts of the < ountry. How long- it has 

 been about Capetown I have been thus tar unable to ascertain, but 

 there seems to be no evidence ot its being a newcomer. The mill 

 people say it causes them some inconvenience, but is by no means a 

 serious pest. The mill buildings here are, as a rule, well built and 

 of brick, and a considerable measure of cleanliness prevails; *he 

 principal one at Capetown is shut down twice a year and given as 

 thorough clean-out, particular attention being bestowed lp dis- 

 lodge all of the " web " in the spouts. I understand that similar 

 methods prevail at the other important mills. Compared with 

 many American establishments, our mills are small and there is, be- 

 sides, a lack of that extreme rushtand bustle that characterizes most 

 everything in Yankee-laud. Perhaps it is owing to these circum- 

 stances that the flour moth is not very troublesome. No parasites 

 have emerged in my rearing boxes, but there was no lack of Trih- 

 olium in the spouts which I had drag-ged for my material. 



Mr. Johnson refers to the fumigation of buildings with hydrocy- 

 anic acid gas. I have carefully refrained from advocating the oper- 

 ation buta number of the foremen connected with the orchard fum- 

 igation at work in diflerent parts of the colony, to my knowledge 

 oblige their fruit-growing patrons by treating sleeping apartments 

 in the dwellings. The results are said to be all that is desired. At 

 my suggestion the Cape Government Iluilways some months ago 

 adopted this fumigant to " disinfect " their rolling stock. For some 

 years the problem of " what to do" sorely troubled even the head, 

 of the department, and correspondence with railway managements 

 in America and elsewhere elicited no information of value. Finally 

 a measure involving the exhaustion of air from the coaches after en- 

 closing them in a special chamber was proposed and a requisition 

 sent to England for the necessary iron work : it \vas at this juncture 

 that hydrocyanic acid gas \\;is brought to the rescue. The simplic- 

 ity and. efficacy of the treatment was demonstrated by the fumiga- 

 tion of eight particularly bad coaches and by laboratory experi- 

 ments it was shown t hat no injurv betel any of the fittings, cloth, 



