THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



591 



Prof. C. P. Gillette did a signal service when he discovered that by 

 using four or five pounds of freshly slaked lime to each pound of the 

 poison he could diminish the injury to the plants materially. This 

 converts the soluble arsenious acid into an insoluble arsenite of lime. 

 Yet this increased the work and was not always satisfactory. 



Then came arsenate of lead. This can be used as strong as four 

 pounds to one hundred gallons of water with no harm to the plants. 

 The powdered article can be used often very effectively mixed with dry 

 wood ashes, pound for pound. In this case a dust gun makes the work 

 easy and rapid. In case the powder is used in lieu of the liquid a still 

 day is necessary, and it is best applied when the plants are wet with 

 dew. — A. J. Cook. 



A TENEBRIONID BEETLE INJURING BEANS. 



A small black Tenebrionid beetle, which has been identified by Dr. 

 Chittenden of the Bureau of Entomology, as Coniontis suhpuhescens, 

 has been found this season doing a great amount of damage on about 

 100 acres of beans near Oxnard. The adult beetles were found in 

 large numbers feeding on the tender stocks just after they came through 

 the ground. The stand of beans was almost completely ruined. While 

 this beetle has been observed for some years in southern California, 

 Dr. Chittenden advises the writer that this is the first report of damage 

 done by it which has ever been received by the Department. Another 

 of the common scavenger Tenebrionids (Blapstinus sp.)_ has been 

 reported before, but not as being so severe in its work as is this one. 

 The field attacked is some distance from other bean fields, and it does 

 not appear that the pest will spread. It has also been observed that 

 poison baits used for cutworms kill considerable numbers of these 

 beetles when they are present in the fields, so that control in case it 

 became necessary should be fairly simple. — R. S. Vaile. 



