EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS. 79 



heretofore has been very limited from necessity. The department as a 

 whole keenly appreciates the significance of such a liberal grant to the 

 science of bacteriology. 



I deem it a great privilege to acknowledge the conscientious assistance 

 of Mr. S. F. Edwards and C. T. Burnett. 



Most respectfully submitted, 



CHARLES E. MARSHALL. 

 Agricultural College^ Mich v * 



June 30, 1902. 



REPORT OF THE CONSULTING ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Prof. C. D. Smith, Director: 



Dear Sir — Following is a brief account of the w r ork done by the Depart- 

 ment of Entomology of the Experiment Station during the year ending 

 June 30, 1902 : 



During the year one bulletin (No. 200) was issued by this office. The 

 correspondence has steadily increased until at- the present time it demands 

 considerable time. Several trips were taken to investigate questions 

 bearing on the work of injurious insects. A trip was made to South 

 Haven to investigate the peach-borer, and one to Ypsilanti to investigate 

 certain insects injuring the shade and fruit trees. 



The weather conditions during this season have produced quite a 

 change in the insect life and depredations. The fall of 1901 was con- 

 siderably earlier than that of 1900 and 1899. This, together with the 

 favorable moist spring, in 1902, has given the wheat a start and kept 

 the hessian fly down so that the outlook for wheat is considerably im- 

 proved. All this time the parasites of the fly are multiplying, reducing the 

 depredations of their enemies — the flies. It appears that the fly is on the 

 decline, and the past history of the pest shows that it appears and dis- 

 appears in regular periods of years, like waves ; the prospect is very 

 encouraging. 



An outbreak of a peculiar kind occurred in June. I refer to the com- 

 ing of the 17-year locust (Cicada septendecem) . This insect lives for the 

 long period of seventeen years underground, feeding on the roots of 

 trees, and then comes up into the air for two or three weeks to lay eggs 

 and utter its song in the tree tops, unless unfortunate enough to be 

 picked up by some turkey, sparrow or other creature. The newspapers, 

 unfortunately, contained many sensational warnings of the coming of 

 this almost harmless creature and the farmers of the State became some- 

 what scared. The writer made an effort to reassure the people by explain- 

 ing that the insect is almost harmless. The only damage that it does is 

 to puncture twigs in order to lay its eggs. Sometimes in the case of 

 young fruit trees, the result is an injury, but in most cases the result is 



