ENTOMOLOGY. 157 



were more or less infested by the thrips, the most conspicuous injuries to blos- 

 som and leaf clusters during the past season were observed with such varieties 

 as Astrachan, Gravenstein, Mcintosh, Ben Davis, and Oldenburg." 



The life history of the pest is described, together with technical descriptions 

 of its stages. " The date when the mature insects first appeared on the trees 

 this spring was not obtained, but a fevv^ specimens were observed on April 26. 

 They seemed to be most numerous and destructive from April 28 through the 

 first week in May. With the falling of the petals from May 11 to May 14 the 

 adults became less numerous on pear trees, and practically disappeared from 

 plantings of this fruit by the latter part of the month. Oviposition was most 

 active during the last few days of April and up to the middle of May. The first 

 young thrips was detected on May 9, and on succeeding days larvae emerged in 

 large numbers, being very conspicuous in the calyx basins of the fruit follow- 

 ing blossoming. The latest date of emergence of larvae was May 25. The young 

 thrips commenced to drop to the ground beneath the trees on May 17, when 

 several of them were caught on sheets of sticky fly paper." 



The actual range of distribution in New York has not been ascertained. 

 While its dcstructiveness to pear orchards has attracted the attention generally 

 of pear growers about North Germantown, Germantown, and Cheviot, scattering 

 numbers of the insect have been observed on pears grown south of this region, 

 about Tivoli, to the north about Stuyvesant, and eastward to a line running 

 between Chatham, Glencoe Mills, and Clermont. On April 26 specimens of thrips 

 were found at Geneva in apple buds, which plainly showed evidences of injury. 



The author's experiments show that " the period for effective spraying is 

 during the time when the buds are breaking and until they are entirely opened 

 at the tips. The most promising spraying mixtures are the nicotin preixira- 

 tions in combination with kerosene emulsion or soap. Two or 3 applications on 

 successive days during the past year largely prevented important injuries to 

 pear trees. The physical features of the locations of the orchards, such as the 

 direction and elevation of the slopes of the land, proximity to the Hudson River 

 and character of the soil, have a marked influence on the development of the 

 buds and the time of blossoming. The time for effective spraying will therefore 

 vary with individual orchards." 



A new fruit tree enemy in New York, F. H. Hall {Isiew York State Sta. 

 Bui. 3'i3, popular cd., pp. 8, fig. 1). — A popular edition of the above. 



The grape leaf -hopper and its control, F. Z. Haktzell {Tilew York State 

 Sta. Bui. S'l-'f, pp. 29-^3, pis. 4, figs. 3). — This paper treats of Typhlocyba comes, 

 its life history and habits, food plants, and injury, with a brief report of experi- 

 mental control work, conducted in continuation of that previously noted (E. S. 

 R., 24, p. 751). 



This important enemy of the grape is- said to have been on the increase in 

 Chautauqua County during the past few years. It " weakens the vines by 

 piercing the epidermis of the underside of the leaf and sucking the cell sap, thus 

 injuring the cells and exposing them, to the drying action of the air. This injury 

 results in a decrease in the amount of wood, and it also affects the quantity 

 and quality of the fruit. Fruit from badly infested vines is poorly ripened." 



" Experiments have proven that a spray containing 0.02 per cent nicotin is 

 the most effective and safest contact insecticide for the control of the grape 

 leaf-hopper. This must be directed against the nymphs, which are hit by apply- 

 ing the spray to the undersides of the leaves. 



" The application of the spray for this insect can be done by the usual hand 

 spraying with trailing hose or by an automatic leaf-hopper sprayer which is 

 described in this bulletin. This latter device was developed during the past 



