PORTO RICO EXPERIMKNT STATION. 459 



These are doubtless scattered to some extent })3'the wind, ))iit it seems 

 proba})le that they are more often inadvertentl}- carried from the 

 diseased to health}- scale by the small ants that always accompany this 

 scale and can be seen running- al)out amonj^' them in great numl)oi"s. 

 With the beoinnino' of the rainy season the funt^us was nudtii)lying 

 with <,^reat rapidity and seemed abundantly able to hold the scale 

 ertectiveh' in check. In fact on many trees it had alread}' been com- 

 plett'ly exterminated." 



(4) Tlie red ^rale {Aftpldiotits Jiciix). — This scale was observed in 

 several localities, but nowhere abundant enouj^h to do nuich harm. It 

 infests both the leaves and twigs. It is occasionally pai'asitized by the 

 white fungus mentioned above, but not to the same extent as the 

 Lecanium. 



Otlii r <>i'<ni(i<' //^svY'As'. Two species of beetles belonging to the Cur- 

 culionidic were observed feeding on orange foliage. Thev are of 

 about the same size (1 centimeter long), one being brown in color; the 

 other liirht "-reen. The green one was nuich the more abundant, and 

 in some ?ases was seriously injuring the foliage. Whether, like the 

 related Pra'podes in .Jamaica,'' the larval stage fed upon the orange 

 roots was not (h'termined. It would doulitless be practicable to pro- 

 tect the trees from this injury by spraying with Paris green. 



A larg«' })rown beetle {LdcIinosteDut sp.), closely reseiul)ling the 

 May beetle, was abundant in the orange groves. Round holes, ii centi- 

 meter or more in diameter, were oftiMi ol)serve(l in the ground near 

 the base of the trees. On digging down one or more pairs of these 

 insects were alwa3's found. They did not seem to be feeding on the 

 roots, and whether they were there for oviposition or only for shelter 

 could not be determined. At night they emerge and tly al)out freeh'. 

 The lar\a is prol)al)ly a "whit<>grub" feeding on plant roots, but 

 whether paiticularly oji orange roots is doubtful. 



One species of small black ant occasionally does damage by gnaw- 

 inii' the bark of vounjx trees both below and above the surface of the 

 ground. In some cases trees have been girdled and killed l»y them. 

 The ants l)uild little runwaj's covered with particles of earth cemented 

 together on the trunks of the trees where they are feeding, so that it 

 is comparatively eas\' to find those trees that are being attacked. Some 

 planters claim good results from brushing off these runways and apply- 

 ing a ring of coal tar to the l)ase of the tree. As coal tar is often 

 dangerous when applied to the Iwii-k of young trees, it was suggested 

 to substitute a rosin mixture like a thin, sticky grafting wax, to be 

 applied with a brush. This would cover and promote the healing of 



"SiiKi- my rftuiii !<> New York I liavc IouihI llu- saiiif fiiii'^us on tlie Hcale in the 

 firfcnlniuse of the New Yurk Botanical (Janlcii. 

 ''.Toiir. \. V. I'.ot. Car.l., -t (UK):!), |.. s. 



