310 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Fresno, Calif. At the time of this report the work has hardly 

 passed its preliminary phases. 



Exi'ERiMENTS WITH WOODS OF iNSECTiciDAL VALUE. — The experi- 

 ments to determine the value of cedar chests, mentioned in my last 

 report, have been brought to a satisfactory conclusion, and results 

 are now available in published form. It has been found that while 

 well-made cedar chests can not be depended upon to kill adult 

 clothes moths and their eggs, nor the half-grown to full-grown 

 larvae, they can be depended upon to kill the newly hatched and 

 very young larvae. At the request of manufacturers, other species 

 of cedar, redwood, camphor, and other woods are receiving similar 

 attention. 



Household insects. — Insects troublesome in homes, including par- 

 ticularly the bedbug, clothes moths, carpet beetles, and silverfish, 

 have continued to receive attention. During the past year special 

 attention has centered upon the biology of clothes moths as affecting 

 the brush and fabric industries. Valuable information has been ob- 

 tained. The work has not received the attention it deserves, through 

 lack of funds. A special bulletin dealing with fabric pests has been 

 prepared and submitted for publication. 



Cold storage for the prevention of loss by insects. — An inves- 

 tigation into the effect of cold-storage temperatures upon the life 

 of insects in commodities has been started and already is jaelding 

 beneficial results. This is a relatively new field of investigation. 

 Experiments already completed indicate the value of cold storage 

 for the destruction of bean and pea weevils in beans. All stored- 

 product pests are being made the subject of investigation in con- 

 nection with cold temperatures. A progress report has already been 

 read before the American Association of Ice and Refrigeration, 

 which has offered the hearty cooperation of its members. 



Fumigation work. — The investigation of the value of fumigation 

 in the prevention of losses through insect attack in warehouses con- 

 tinues to be an important phase of the work of the bureau. Indus- 

 tries throughout the country are calling upon the department con- 

 tinually for information regarding the protection by fumigation of 

 stocks of raw wool, grain, grain products, beans, cowpeas, candies, 

 meats, hides, brushes, fabrics, furniture, and a long array of other 

 susceptible raw and manufactured products. 



Inspection and intelligence service. — The cooperation with the 

 Army and Navy has been continued in the way indicated in my last 

 year's report. This service during the past year has been directed 

 more largely toward furnishing the Army and Navy with informa- 

 tion regarding the susceptibility of various fabrics to moth attack. 

 This work has been conducted at Washington, the laboratory main- 

 tained during and since the war at the Army Supply Base at Brook- 

 lyn, N. Y., having been discontinued during the past year. 



TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUIT INSECTS. 



This work has been carried out under the direction of Dr. A. L. 

 Quaintance, in cooijeration, in certain cases, with the Federal Horti- 

 cultural Board. 



Insects affecting citrus fruits in California. — The experiments 

 under way for the control of the citrus red spider at the Alhambra 



