1897-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 199 



that the house sparrow had been very abundant and very obnoxious in 

 certain parts of England, and it seemed probable that some legislation or 

 public measures would need to be adopted to control this bird. The 

 arrival from Tripoli of a cargo of wheat, badly infested by the Angou- 

 mois m >th, was recorded and reference made to the occurrence in injurious 

 numbers of Xyleborns dispar at Toddington. 



Prof. P. H. Rolfs presented notes on "A Fungus Disease of the San 

 Jose' Scale.' This disease seems to be confined to the southern part of 

 the United States, but is very helpful to fruit-growers there. The scale 

 has been almost eradicated from several orchards by this disease; labo- 

 ratory and field experiments now in progress promise helpful results, but 

 it does not seem probable that this disease will be of value in the northern 

 part of the United Slates, since warmth and moisture are necessary for 

 its development. 



Mr. Barrows made a brief statement concerning the distribution of the 

 San Jose" scale in Michigan. The insect had been found scattered through- 

 out the southern counties of the State, where it had probably existed for 

 eight years. In discussing this paper Mr. Craig spoke of the occurrence 

 of the scale in southern Ontario, where there were at least seven infested 

 localities. 



A paper from Prof. C. P. Gillette on " Insects taken at Light and Sugar," 

 evoked considerable discussion, and was followed by " A Study of the 

 Possible Origin and Distribution of the Chinch Bug," by Prof. F. M. 

 Webster. The author advanced the idea that this insect had originated 

 in the southern part of the United States and spread by two diverging 

 streams up the Mississippi Valley and along the eastern Atlantic coast. 

 In the former region the long-winged form predominated, while the coast 

 form was short winged. In the discussion following this paper the gen- 

 eral opinion seemed to be that the length of the wings depended upon 

 environment rather than heredity. Mr. C. \Y. Malley recorded the cap- 

 ture at Ohio of a specimen having one long and one short wing, thus 

 throwing additional light upon the relationship between the two forms. 



" Notes on the Common House Fly," by Mr. Howard, gave the nega- 

 tive results of a series of experiments with lime, land plaster, etc., used 

 to destroy the larva? of the house-fly. He emphasized the necessity of 

 greater cleanliness in the management of horse stables. 



A paper from Mr. Gillette on " Vernacular names of Insects," was 

 read and referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Howard, Fernald 

 and Lintner. A communication from C. P. Lounsbury, giving very in- 

 teresting notes on "Cape of Good Hope Insects," particularly the locusts 

 of that region, was then read. 



Mr. H. G. Hubbard presented an account of the " Insect Fauna of the 

 Giant Cactus," recording the capture of a large number of insects on this 

 plant and giving notes on their habits. 



Mr. Howard described "A Valuable Coccid" lately discovered in 

 Arizona and New Mexico, from which, by suitable treatment, a good 



