ENTOMOLOGY. 675 



Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In the District of 

 Columbia the adult insects appear in May and the early part of June and deposit 

 their eggs. Spathius simillinms is noted as an undoubted parasite of this borer. 



After the borers once attack a tree it is impossible to save it. The methods of 

 extracting the round headed beetle from the tree are in this case scarcely practica- 

 ble. The chief reliance must be on preventive measures, such as clean culture, cut- 

 ting down and burning dead or injured trees, the making of trap trees, and coating 

 the trunks with a mixture of clay or manure or with Raupenleim. Storm killed trees 

 should be removed, and sawn timber should not be allowed to season without remov- 

 ing the bark; even the family woodpile may form a nidus for the development of 

 the insects. Wood cut in winter and allowed to season over summer should be dis- 

 posed of before the following April. 



The pear borer, Matsumara (Annot. Zool. Japan, 1 (1897), pp. 1-3, pi. 1; abs. in 

 Jour. ll<nj. Micros. Soc. [London], 1897, Xo.5, j). 379). — The life history of Nephopteryx 

 ruhrizonella, the larger pear borer of Japan, is described. This insect destroys from 

 30 to 50 per cent of the fruit every year. It is a micro-lepidopterous insect of the 

 group Pyradina and of the family Phycidie. 



As remedies, cutting oft* the branches bearing the eggs, the use of kerosene emul- 

 sion, and as a last resort pouring carbon bisulphid into the hole made in the fruit, 

 are mentioned as being employed. 



The buffalo tree hopper, C. L. Marlatt ( U. S. Dept. Agr., Division of Entomology 

 Circ. .':■'■, .'. ser., pp. 4, figs. ?). — A popular description of the buffalo tree hopper ( <ercsa 

 bubalus), its habits, life history, and damages. Vigorous pruning in the fall and the 

 planting of trap crops arc recommended as remedies. 



Notes on the life history and habits of certain predaceous heteroptera, A. If. 

 Kikkland (Agr. Massachusetts, 1896, pp. 390— 111, ph. 2). — The life histories of several 

 hemiptera (Podisus placidus, Dendrocoris humeralis, Dijrfodus inridus, and a new spe- 

 cies, En sch isf us polilus). A pair of the new species was discovered by the author in 

 Massachusetts, and since then others have been obtained from Rhode Island, Penn- 

 sylvania, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. This species does not seem to be 

 common. As an enemy of the gypsy moth this insect is of minor importance, and 

 the author adds that from the structure of its beak he is inclined to believe it is 

 more of a plant feeder than a destroyer of insects. 



The suppression of insect pasts and plant diseases by legislation, B. T. 

 Galloway (U. S. Dept. Agr., Proc. Natl. Convention for the Suppression of Insect 

 Pests and Plant Diseases bg Legislation, held at Washington, March 5-6, 1S97, pp. 31). — 

 This contains a complete report of the proceedings of the meeting and the text of 

 the bill which has already been referred to(E. S. R., 8, p. 913), as well as a synopsis of 

 papers read at the meeting. In the paper read by L. O. Howard it was shown that 

 the principal places of entry to be guarded are Boston, Charleston, New York, St. 

 Augustine, Key West, Tampa, New Orleans, and Baltimore. A paper by B. F. 

 Delong set forth the plan for inspection, etc., followel in California. This was fol- 

 lowed by a paper on "Crop pests and their repression by law" by G. McCarthy, 

 which states that of the 3 classes of farm pests, fungi, weeds, and insects, only the 

 last can be dealt with by national law, and that of such a law a national quarantine, 

 the enforced inspection and certification of plants which are subjects of interstate 

 commerce are the principal desiderata. In the discussion that followed the papers, 

 the difficulty of inspecting fruits put up iu boxes, etc., was brought out, but this 

 difficulty it was thought might be overcome by requiring all such goods to be 

 packed in boxes with easily removable covers. 



Notes on some chemical points in the preparation of insecticides and fungi- 

 cides, F. B. Guthrie (Agr. Gaz. Ncie South Wales, 8 (1897), No. 10, pp. 707-715).— 

 Among the points most worthy of note is that in making Bordeaux mixture the lime 

 water should be poured into the copper solution and not the latter into the former. 

 The lime should be fresh. Free copper sulphate, even in small quantities, burns the 

 foliage and therefore should not be allowed to be present. 

 13039— No. 7 (3 



