104 



Plum gouger {Coccotorvs inunicida, Walsli). — This includes a brief 

 illustrated descrii)tion of this iusect and au account of its life history, 

 with special reference to observations by the anthor ; a record of exper- 

 iments with London pnrple for this insect; and brief notes on Sigalphus 

 canadensis, a parasite which was observed to piey on the gouger. The 

 following summary is taken from the bulletin : 



(1) The gouger appears upon the trees much earlier in the spring than does the 

 curculio. 



(2) The gouger is much more injurious than the curculio to native plums on the 

 grounds of the Iowa Agricultural College. 



(3) The gouger very much prefers the native to the domestic varieties. 



(4) The examination of over twenty-four thousand uative plums, from not less than 

 eighteen different ti-ecs of many varieties, showed a little over 27 per cent of their 

 fruit to be injured by the gouger. 



(5) The gougers take no food in the fall after emerging from the plums. 



(6) The gouger has at least one parasite that preys upon it while in the pupa state. 

 The jparasite is Sujalj^hus canadensis. 



(7) The season's experiments indicate that London purple, as recommended for the 

 destruction of the curculio, is of little value for the destruction of the gouger. 



(8) The gouger is not able to come to maturity in fruit that falls from the trees be- 

 fore the middle of July. 



(9) Fruit infested by the gouger does not ripen or fall prematurely. 



(10) About 26 per cent of the punctures of the gouger result in the production of a 

 beetle. 



(11) Jarring the trees, collecting the beetles, and gathering stung fruit from the 

 trees before the Ist of August are the best remedies at present known for the gouger. 



London purple for plum-trees.— As the result of his experiments the 

 author holds that 1 pound of London purple to 240 gallons of water makes 

 a solution sufficiently strong as au insecticide and safe to use on plum- 

 trees. 



Massachusetts Hatch Station, Bulletin No. 8, April. 1890 (pp. 24). 



Greenhouse heating— steam versus hot water, S. T. May- 

 NARD, B. S. (pp. 3-5). — A careful repetition of the experiments reported 

 in Bulletins Nos. 4 and 6 of this station (See Experiment Station Eecord, 

 Vol. 1, pp. 8w and 225) confirmed the results previously obtained in 

 favor of the hot-water system. The two greenhouses are alike ex- 

 cept that one is heated by hot water and the other by steam. From 

 December 1, 1889, to March 18, 1890, for the hot-water boiler 6,598 

 pounds of coal were consumed to maintain an average temperature of 

 49.74° Fah.j for the steam-boiler 9,784 pounds of coal were consumed 

 to maintain an average temperature of 48.39° Fah. Objections to the 

 experiments are considered and the correctness of the conclusions is 

 maintained. Thermometric observations of "sun temperatures" in the 

 two houses are cited. 



Observations on peach yellows, S. T. Maynard, B. S. (pp. 0-12, 

 illustrated).— In New England peach trees do not generally maintain 

 healthy growth beyond the age of six to ten years. The chief diffi- 

 .culties are cold and the disease called " yellows." Whether this .(lis- 



