CHINESE BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 



On July 6th I addressed a letter to the Honorable Amos P. 

 Wilder, U. S. Consul General at Hongkong, China, informing 

 him that we would send four small orange trees in tubs by a 

 subsequent steamer to his care with the request that he kindly 

 turn the trees over to an American horticulturist to care for 

 them until called for by either Mr. George Compere, beneficial 

 insect collector of California, or Mr. F. Muir, one of the staff of 

 entomologists of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association, both 

 of whom are expected to soon visit China in search of beneficial 

 insects. I had personally instructed both gentlemen regarding 

 the object of sending the trees infested with certain scale insects 

 that we desire stocked with their natural enemies or checks that 

 we know exist in China, consisting of very minute Chalcid, 

 Hymenopterous flies. On July 12th the trees were forwarded 

 to Hongkong per S. S. "Siberia," freight charges prepaid, and 

 further instructions sent to Consul General Wilder and George 

 Compere. In a former leter to Mr. Wilder I directed that no 

 fumigation of the trees be allowed in China, as it was necessary 

 that the various scale insects reach there alive. Mr. Haughs 

 and Mr. Austin assisted in packing the trees for their long voy- 

 age. 



ECONOMIC PLANTS FROM WASHINGTON, D. C. 



Four large cases of Cacao (370) plants and six small Mango 

 trees arrived on July 6th per S. S. ''Alameda" from the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, via San Francisco. 

 The Cacao plants had been thoroughly treated with Bordeaux 

 mixture and on the Mango trees we found a few very small 

 ''Florida red scale" (Chrysomphalus ficus) which upon micro- 

 scopic examination we found were dead — evidently having been 

 fumigated before shipment. 



SOIL BALLAST CONDEMNED. 



On Sunday, July 15th, the large four-masted American iron 

 ship "Atlas" arrived from Yokohama with a cargo of soil ballast 

 containing vegetable matter and roots. As the laws of the Terri- 

 tory and your regulations positively prohibit the landing of 

 such material we notified Captain Amberman and the agents of 



