184 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



one of the most easily controlled. In the beginning of July, Mr. George Thomas, of 

 Jones Falls, Ont., a recent settler in Canada, but who has had an extensive experience 

 as a farmer in England, wrote for a remedy for the " cabbage worm," the caterpillar of 

 the Imported White Cabbage Butterfly, and was recommended to use insect powder 

 diluted with four times its weight of common flour. Reporting on his experience, Mr. 

 Thomas says : " Only for your prompt reply, I should have been the loser of 7,000 

 cabbages, Brussels sprouts and cauliflowers. I find the white butterfly no respecter of 

 sorts ; but it is of conditions, as I noted it was most severe on the weakest plants. I 

 would here respectfully suggest for such the addition of superphosphate, as it is an 

 insecticide and cheap fertilizer, say five cwt. per acre. I think many make the mistake 

 of using the application once and no more. I had to resort to your splendid remedy on 

 three occasions for successive broods, and it effectually eradicated the caterpillars. I 

 had a perfect crop, while many others in this neighbourhood lost their plants by in- 

 attention, or maybe through ignorance. I like the idea of mixing with flour, as when 

 applied when the dew is on the leaves it adheres admirably. Such information as this 

 you send and such as is sent by the other departments of the Experimental Farms, is, 

 I believe, of incalculable value to the farmers of Canada, and worth thousands of dollars 

 to those who will make use of it." 



Mr. Forrest E. Caldwell, of Manotick, Ont., likewise says : "I consider the bulletin 

 which you sent me concerning insects, has saved me a great deal of money. In the case 

 of wire worms alone, I have two fields of ten acres each, and on these almost every 

 grain crop I have sown for the last twenty years, has been a failure. From what I now 

 know, since I got the farm bulletins, I recognize that the cause of this loss was wire worms 

 and nothing else. Having followed the advice given me at the Experimental Farm, I 

 fully believe I have been saved a considerable sum of money, and I am glad to testify 

 to the value of the institution to all farmers who are wise enough to avail themselves of 

 the advantages it offers. When I received the bulletin above referred to, I had just 

 made up my mind to try a series of several experiments which. I had seen recommended 

 in newspapers, and which I now know would have been useless and expensive. By 

 following your advice, I have been saved all this trouble and expense, as well as saved 

 my crop." 



Meetings Attended. — By permission of the Hon. Minister, I have been pleased to 

 attend and speak at several meetings of farmers and fruit growers, and I believe that 

 good work has been done in showing farmers the nature of my work and convincing 

 them that it is of value to them, and that when applications are made for information 

 concerning insects and plants, every effort will be made by the Entomologist and 

 Botanist to assist them. 



Meetings were attended at the following places : — 



January. — Manotick, Ont. ; Ingersoll, Ont. ; Aylmer, Que. 



February. — Montreal, Abbotsford, Cowansville, Chelsea, all in Quebec. 



April. — Angus, Ont. ; Queenston, Ont. ; Knowlton, Que. ; Cookshire, 



Que. ; Danville, Que. ; Richmond, Que. 

 June. — Jubilee Point, Rice Lake, Ont. ; Riceville, Ont. ; Richmond, Ont. 

 August. — Charlotte town, P. E. I. ; Knowlton, Que. 

 October. — East Templeton, Que. ; Aylmer, Que. 

 November. — London, Ont. 

 December. — St. Joseph de Beauce, Que. ; Orillia, Ont. 



Acknowledgments. — I take pleasure in again gratefully acknowledging the valuable 

 assistance I have received from my many correspondents in all parts of the Dominion, 

 who have much aided the work of my department by making observations and by send- 

 ing me prompt notice of the occurrence of injurious insects and weeds. My thanks are 

 also particularly due to : Mr. L. O. Howard, the United States Entomologist, and his staff, 

 for many favours in the identification of insects, for the use of figures and for valuable 

 publications ; to my kind friend, Miss Eleanor A. Ormerod, for many courtesies and 

 for information concerning crop attacks in England similar to some occurring in Canada, 

 as well as for some valuable books and reports, among others the " Agricultural Zoology " 



