60 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



neglect Uft (pp. 105-21(5). Under the title (>1)S(m- vat ions on the Coccidre ()f the 

 Olive and their rarasites in Puglia and Calabria, Lecanium olew. riiiliitpin 

 olew, A.^iddiotus hetuhi, and PoUinia poUhii are considered (pp. 217-2!M!). The 

 fig coecid (Veroplaste.s rusei) and its natural enemies are also discussed (pii. 

 20(i-8!J8). 



Garden insects and how to control them, E. D. Sanderson {Trans. Mass. 

 Hurt. Hoe., I'JOl), pt. 1, pp. .ii)-dS). — A paper read before the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society, January 1(J, 1909. 



Our honey bees, K. Sajo {Unsere Hoiiujhieiie. Htuttgart, l'.)()i), pp. lOH, fig.'i. 

 ',1). — This is a small handbook on bees, their structure and habits, and the 

 business of bee keeping. 



Eri or castor silk, H. M. Lefroy {Agr. Jour. Jndia, '/ (I'JOO), No. 2, pp. Uij- 

 133, pis. 8). — Eri silk is described as the cocoon of Attacus ricini, probably the 

 domesticated form of A. eijnthia which is found in a wild stage in Assam and 

 in the outer forested slopes of the Himalayas. " Eri silk is domesticated in 

 the Assam valley, where it is grown for local use and, to a limited extent, for 

 export. With Muga silk {Anthcnra assama) it forms what is known in India 

 as 'Assam silk ' as apart from tussur and from nuilberry silk. At the present 

 time, eri is not generally cultivated outside Eastern Bengal and Assam, Rung- 

 l)ur being about its western limit. During the past 2 years it has been ex- 

 perimentally grown at Pusa, and it is being grown also in other parts of India, 

 from seed obtained from Pusa. 



" Eri silk has pecularities which distinguish it from all other silks cultivated 

 or collected in India. In the first place, the worms require only castor leaves 

 for food ; mulberry is not a food plant. In the second, the cocoon is not a 

 closed one and is not reelable in the same way as are mulberry or tussur silk 

 cocoons; the caterpillar, in preparing the cocoon, leaves one end closed only 

 with converging loops of silk, so that, while nothing can get in, the moth can 

 push out ; but the cocoon is made in layers, is not composed of a single thread 

 and can not be reeled by the ordinary process. On the other hand, the silk 

 has this immense advantage, that the cocoons do not require to be ' stifled,' 

 that is, killed, to prevent the egress of the moth ; in preparing mulberry and 

 tussur silk, the cocoon is killed, since the moth in getting out so damages the 

 cocoon that it can not be reeled so well. Seven or eight broods are obtained 

 yearly, and as the production of eggs is large, a large brood can be secured 

 from a small quantity of initial seed when castor is plentiful, and several 

 crops of cocoons are obtainable yearly. The silk cocoons can be utilized just 

 as cotton is, but yield a cloth far more durable and lasting. Dyed cloth is 

 produced with ease by dyeing the cocoons, the thread, or the cloth." 



A detailed account of the industi-y is contributed. 



Sericulture [in Japan], C. Shimooka (In Agriculture in Japan. Tokyo: 

 Govt.. 190S, pp. 30S-32Ji). — The author reviews the history of sericulture in 

 Japan, showing that the origin of the industry belongs to antiquity. In 1906 

 there were 1.407,7(56 families engaged in silkworm raising. Silk production 

 now forms one of the most important industries of Japan, coming close after 

 rice and barley in importance as an article of domestic production, while as 

 an article of export it stands first in imi)ortance. 



FOODS— HUMAN NUTRITION. 



Chemistry of flesh. A preliminary study of the effect of cold storag'e upon 

 beef and poultry, A. D. Emmett and H. S. CiRindley {Jour. Indus, and Eiigin. 

 Chem.. 1 (JDO!)), Nos. 1, pp. 413-Jf36; 8, pp. 580-597).— This includes two series 

 of studies. 



