ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY ENTOMOLOGY. 349 



Associated with the bleeding disease is another, which is called the yellows 

 or }-ellowing. This disease has been attributed to an increase in the alkali con- 

 tent of ground water following continued irrigation. The bleeding disease may 

 attack a few twigs of a tree, while the yellowing affects the entire tree and 

 causes its destruction much more quickly than the bleeding. 



The autlior believes that the diseases are due to different causes and that the 

 bleeding may follow a weakened condition caused by the j-el lowing disease. 



Cutting out diseased twigs and coating the fresh wounds with tar or paint is 

 recommended for the prevention of the bleeding disease. If the yellowing dis- 

 ease is due to the presence of alkali, drainage would doubtless correct this 

 trouble. 



The damping off of coniferous seedlings, L. R. Jones {Vcnnoiit Std. Rpt. 

 J907, pp. 3-'i2-S-'i7). — The damping off of coniferous seedlings is said to be a 

 serious hindrance to success in raising seedlings of pine or other conifers in the 

 mu'sery, and was the cause of considerable loss experienced in 190G and 1907. 

 Examinations made of plants from local seed beds showed the i)resence of a 

 Fusarium-like fungus similar to the one described in Europe as parasitic on 

 pine and si)ruce seedlings. The author thinks, from the circumstances sur- 

 rounding the location of the seed beds, etc., that the fungus not only is a wide- 

 spread one, but also is probably a native rather than an introduced species. 



In order to determine what could be done to checiv the loss, investigations 

 were carried on on methods of handling seed beds, sterilization of the soil, and 

 the use of fungicides during certain periods of growth. The investigations 

 showed that the surface of the seed beds should be kept as dry as practicable. 

 It early became ajipareut that the fungus content of the soil at the time of 

 planting is an imiiortant factor, and experiments were carried on in sterilizing 

 the Soil by the use of a 1 per cent and a oue-half per cent solution of 

 formalin, the seeds being sown 5 days after the application of the fungicide. 

 As a result of the spraying with the one-half per cent formalin solution the 

 stand was reduced by 25 per cent as compared with the check lot, and where 

 the one per cent solution of formalin was used the stand was reduced by nearly 

 the 1 per cent solution of formalin was used the stand was reduced by nearly 

 the treated and untreated lots, practically 90 per cent of the seedlings where 

 no formalin was used having been destroyed, while only 7* per cent were damped 

 off where the 1 per cent solution was used and 9 per cent where the oue-half 

 per cent solution was used. 



The possibility of the control of this disease by the application of fungicides 

 during the critical period is being investigated. 



The sprinkling of the surface of the seed bed with sand immediately follow- 

 ing germination was tested, and was found to be quite efficient in lowering the 

 amount of loss. In this case clean sand, of rather coarse texture, should be 

 used and applied as hot as it can be handled, sprinkling it over the surface of 

 the bed to a depth of about At in. 



ECONOMIC ZOOLO&Y— ENTOMOLOGY. 



Deer farming in the "United States, D. E. Lantz ( U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers^ 

 Bui. ,',30, pp. .5-20, figs. 2). — -This bulletin discusses briefly the economic possi- 

 bilities of raising deer and elk in the I'^nited vStates. 



"The wapiti and the Virginia deer can be raised successfully and cheaply 

 under many different conditions of food and climate. The production of veni- 

 son nnd the rearing of both species for stocking parks may be made profitable 

 industries in the United States. 



