Vol. XVIII No 456 



THE AQRICULTTJRAL NEWS. 



331 



In the following not s, extracts and quot-tions from the 

 paoiphlei mentioned, f rnish exaiiples of some of these points. 

 It m*y be only fair, however, to s:ate that the claims made 

 for the insecticide are not extravagant, cr perhips it 

 would be better to state, that the makers offer for sale a 

 contact insecticide, and all their suggestions and reiommenda- 

 tioiis indicate that they are fully aware of tiie limitations of 

 such an insecticide, that is the insecticide muit be Irought 

 into contact with the insect to be killed by it. 



The 'Entomology' lesson begins with the heiding 

 'Read Carefully Why and How to Kill Bugs ' The reference 

 is obviously to insects in general, not to bugs in particular 

 for in the T nited States, insects as a whole are often referred 

 is to as bugs, and ihis obviously general application is to be 

 seen in the mention of cockroaches, bed-bugs, cljthes moths, 

 carpet beetles, flies, fleas and ant^, representing a: least 

 sis natural orders of insects. While the use of the term 

 bug to apply to such a wide r.\iig^ of different in ects is 

 very misleading, it is rot much more unsatisfactory than 

 the extremely restricted use of the same term which is 

 common in Englard and the colonies, where it usually 

 refers only to the bed-bug, and thus the relationship of that 

 large group of plant-feedi;.g, sucking insects is lost to the 

 understanding of many. 



But to return to the pamphlet 'Entomology." The 

 following quo'ati n indicates clearly that the writer had in 

 mind only a certain small group of insects a^d not insects 

 as a whole: — 



' In the first place it is nature and instinct of nearly 

 all forms of insect life to hide ihemse'ves, their 

 eggs and larvae in deep, dark cracks 

 or crevices away from light, but near t':eir food supply, 

 accustomed to the dark they come out at night for food 

 which I hey can find without any trouble, but if they are 

 suddenly surprised by a light or noise, they will run and hide 

 in these hiding places and will not come out again until 

 everything seems saf' .' 



The I ai^e on Bed Bugs gives an old adage modified to 

 s'lit the case 'L'lofe before V'u sleep' which will appeal t> 

 many travellers, especially in the tropica The advice in 

 regard to the control of this insect is good — 'to completely 

 exterminate the cordially hated bed-buas be most thorough.' 

 The small domestic cockroach known as the ' water 

 bug,' ' croton bug ' and ' germaii roach' is given credit for 

 a .social organization and a d> gree of perception, fur beyond 

 what would bs expected in insects of this sort, and as an 

 instance of polyembrony it is certainly a mfrvellous species. 

 It is stated ihtit ea;h egg contains on an average thirty to 

 forty two 'baby water bugs ' 



The social organization of the water bug colonies is 

 indicated in the followiiig qu' tatisn ' A nest of- this pest 

 containing a full-fledged lamly do not ai! cjme rut at once 

 and place themselves liable to complete extermination to get 

 the necessary food to live on ; but p irt of the family comes 

 out and after they have had all ttey want to eai they return, 

 and another portion of the family appears.' 



If cockroaches could reason to the extent indicated, surely 

 the problem of controlling them would be great inde.jd. 



The rel'iionsLip between the spread of bubonic plague 

 and the occurrence of rat fleas appears lo be recogn ztd to 

 a certain extent, but the matter is expressed in the following 

 lines in such a manner as to leave some doub" in the mind 

 of the reader as to the exact state of affairs, and does not 

 indicate the definite knowledge that exists on the subject: 

 ' Bubonic plagues originate where there are great numbers 

 of rats and mice that live and breed in filthy barns, ash 

 heaps and sewers. They are cohered with ileas filled with 



disea.'ie germs, and spread from household to household, 

 biting and infesting the human being ; hence, the plague." 



The page devoted to ' Moths ' contains references t« 

 a peculiir mixture of insectg. The opening sentences are 

 quot.d : ' Moths are butterflies better kno.vn as Millers, 

 from the floury coating which cover the wingq and body. 

 There are 2 kinds the CoiP3 -n House Moth and Buffalo 

 Moth or Carpet Beetle. The larvae is nbint J of an inch 

 long, active, and covered with stiff brown hair: it feeds on 

 neatly any kind of fabric and furs, cutting Isng slits and 

 irregular holes. When disturbed it folds up its legs and 

 antenna feigning death. The skin is cast 6 times and 2 

 generations of several hundred are born.' 



In these statements it ia difficult to make out what is 

 referred to mith, butterfly or beetle, while the folding of 

 the lees and attennie might refer to any of the three 

 either as larvae or adul's, while from the nature of the cise 

 this habit could only be attribated to the adult beetle. 



The paragraph on Flies probably refers to the house 

 fly but it is not so state I. The mathematical calculation 

 invol ea the mind of ihe reader in a very long string of 

 figures 



■ Flies start about April I5th with a single over winter 

 fly; it lays 123 eggs the larvae period lasts -5 days, the 

 pupa o days, or one generafion 10 days, so that by Septem- 

 ber lO'h, or in about ."> months, a total of .'5,-j9tf.72O,00O,O0O 

 fl es are born. Mosquitoes and flies are most dangeroos 

 insect.^ and should be killed, as this pest breeds in 

 swamjiy and filthy places, are disease carriers, and by 

 infection. Yellow, typhoid and malarial fevers are con- 

 tracted and spread.' 



The paragraph on flies concludes with the definite 

 sta'emeat that 'a dead mosqnito or fly will not buzz or 

 bite.' 



A pamphlet such as the one under discussion with 

 its jumble of facts and badi}' expressed statements in 

 regard to insects may be of value in advertising a proprie- 

 tary article, which in its turn may be excellent for the 

 purposes for which it is recjiumended, but how much 

 better it would be if a small amount of care were expended 

 in order that the iofrirmation coutained in its pages might 

 be accurate, well e.vpressed, anii free from ambiguity. 

 Such a pnmphle' might have an educational value : as it 

 stands it is mer^ 'y advertising matter, out of which a few 

 readers may get a little amusement. 



H A.B. 



American Cotton —A cotton prod'iction of 11,016,000 

 bales this year, was the forecast on Angus' 3 by the 

 U'dted States Department of Agricjlture, basing its estimate 

 on the cond.tions of the crop July 2-5, whi''h it announced as 

 67 '1 per cent, of a normal. This was an increise of 30,000 

 b.iles over forecast madi- a month ago, the condition of the 

 crop showed a decline of 2 9 per ce it., dnring the month, com- 

 pared with the avarage decline of 4'2 per cent, daring the 

 period in previous years. 



- In a statement accompanying its forecast, the Department 

 said boll-wt evil daiaage to cotton probably was more wide- 

 spread and serious at this time than ever before. 



Heavy washing rains caused severe damaee in the Caroli- 

 nas, Georg'a, Florida Alabama much of Louisiana and 

 Mississippi and t'>e Easterii and Svuihern portions of Texas. 



Labour is scarce and high-priced, and acreage above tte 

 average has been abandoned. 



Sea Island cott'i'n in Georgia is being ploughed up, and 

 'litle of that type will be left by the end of the s ason. (Wash- 

 ington telegram in the Jamaica GUiner.) 



