Il6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 



DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 



Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, Sc. D., New Brunswick, N, J. 



California Entomology. The report of the work of the Agricultural 

 Experiment Station of the University of California for the year 1891, '92 

 is at hand, and contains, among other things of interest, synopsis of the 

 diseases of cultivated plants and one of the families of insects. Under 

 the title, Diseases of Cultivated Plants, are included the effects of the 

 injuries caused by insects, and it is attempted to give, in a diagnostic way, 

 those characters which will enable the average "intelligent farmer" (a 

 term, by-the-bye, to which I have heard objections) to recognize what it 

 is that troubles him. Having determined from the first synopsis whether 

 the trouble is disease or insect work, the second synopsis is intended to 

 enable the individual to determine what insect or what sort of creature 

 has caused the trouble. The make-up of the table is decidedly original, 

 and in practice it may work well in some hands. The farmers in California, 

 however, must be very much further advanced than most of those along 

 the Atlantic coast if they find themselves able to make satisfactory deter- 

 minations from the publication. This is not intended at all as adverse 

 criticism upon the value of the synopsis, because this has undoubtedly 

 been carefully thought out and put into as clear a language as possible. 

 It is simply that the average farmer, intelligent or otherwise, would very 

 mnch rather write to the Station and send specimens, throwing upon the 

 entomologist the burden of telling him just what to do, than he would 

 make use of such a paper as that given us by Mr. \Voodworth. This is 

 not really surprising, for what may seem very simple and clear to a trained 

 mind, may be altogether beyond even a well-developed one not used to 

 analytical methods. 



Habits Of the Cockroach. Mr. Roy Hopping, Bloomfield, N. J., writes 

 on this subject as follows: " Your note on the habits of cockroaches in the 

 KNT. NEWS for March, 1894, recalls to me the way we got rid of that pest 

 in our house. The family was still away at the seashore, and my father, 

 returning before them, conceived the idea of disinfecting the house with 

 a sulphur candle. If you have never seen this harmless toy I will say it 

 is sulphur contained in a tin cup about half the size of a fruit-can and has 

 four wicks. It was started at five o'clock in the afternoon and at ten my 

 father, after opening the do6r, decided to take a walk, Returning at 

 twelve he managed to get in after making several dives at the windows 

 from the open dour and throwing these open. By much ventilation he 

 managed to make the upper stories habitable. It was known there were 

 some roaches in the house and they had increased during the- time the 

 house was unoccupied. The sulphur drew them from their holes for air 

 and has that advantage over poison. The next morning, armed with 

 broom, shovel and barrel but suffice it to say we haven't had any 

 roaches since." 



