No. 104.] 107 



was found, from the structure and markings of the head of the larva, 

 to be, beyond doubt, that of Phytonomus lyunctatus. 



Dr. Sturtevant having suggested the possibility that tlie fungus 

 attack may have been tlie result of the fertilizer used at the station, 

 the fungus was shown to Prof. Peck, State Botanist. It was pro- 

 nounced by him, in all probability, an undescribed species, allied to 

 the well-known fly-fungus, JEmjnisa miiscce. 



Upon mentioning the above facts to Hon. G. "W. Clinton, he ex- 

 pressed his belief that the fungus may have been communicated in 

 .the manner suggested by Dr. Sturtevant, if fish-remains entered into 

 the composition of the fertilizer, from the fact that a common fun- 

 gus found infesting fishes is the Saprolignea-ferax^ which is believed 

 to be but the aquatic form of the Empusa 77iusc(£. 



The above was communicated to Dr. Sturtevant, with an inquiry 

 of the nature of the fertilizer that had been used. Answer was 

 returned that he had obtained from the manufacturers the formula of 

 its composition, and that " the nitrogenous material was supplied by 

 acidulated fish-skins^ dried ground horse-meat and w^estern blood." 



If, as seems not improbable, that the death through fungoid attack 

 of the larva can be clearly traced to the use of the fertilizer, through 

 the discovery of the same fungus in the fertilizer, or better still, by 

 experiments with healthy larvae — the mortality of the larvse ob- 

 served at Geneva, by Dr. Sturtevant, will certainly be an event of 

 unusual interest. It would appear to give us the means of destroy- 

 ing a pest which up to the present it has not been possible to con- 

 trol, and at the same time stimulating the crop and thereby enabling 

 it the better to resist all other forms of insect attack. Nor would 

 its efficacy be limited to this particular species, but it would be 

 doubtless available against many other insect enemies, especially those 

 that burrow in the ground after the manner of the Phytonomus. 



The fungus has been studied by Prof. J. C. Arthur, of the Experi- 

 ment Station, and it is understood that his report upon it, together 

 with experiments made therewith, and the history of the attack, is 

 to appear in the forthcoming Annual Report of the Station." 



The Pear-blight Beetle — Xyleborus ptri {Peck). 



The two communications given below from Mr. G. W. Duvall, of 

 Annapolis, Md., are acceptable contributions to our knowledge of 

 the habits and operations of one of the borers of our fruit-trees 

 which, at times, has proved quite injurious in some of the New 

 England and Middle States, although not a common insect in the 

 State of New York. It was first described and figured b}'^ Professor 

 "W. D. Peck, of Harvard University, in 1SI7, as Scolytus pyri ; 

 later, it has been briefly noticed by Dr. Fitch in his 3d Report on 

 the Insects of New York ; and more fully, in the Harris Reports as 

 Tomicus pyri — the " blight beetle." 



* Since published — iu 4tli Ann. Bept. N. Y. Agricul. Stat., pp. 258-262, as 

 Entomophthora PJiytonomi Arthur. 



