CONVENTION OF AMEEICAN AGKICULTUKAL COLLEGES. 415 



SECTION ON ENTOMOLOGY. 



The attendance of entomologists at this convention was larger than 

 usual and a full programme was presented. W. E. Britton reported 

 experiments on the banding of trees to prevent their injury by the fall 

 cankerworm. Black Virginia oil was found to be better for this 

 purpose than printer's ink. 



E. P. Felt presented Suggestions toward greater uniformity in nursery 

 inspection laws and rulings. There was said to be a growing demand 

 for fumigated trees, and the author believed it was better to educate 

 the public rather than to tr^ to enforce laws. Papers on Nursery 

 inspection and orchard insecticide treatment in Illinois, by S. A. Forbes, 

 and Pjxperience in nursery and orchard inspection and some recent 

 results with hydroc3"anic-acid gas in large buildings for the destruc- 

 tion of insect pests, by W. G. Johnson, described different phases of 

 this work, and the subject of fumigation was discussed at some length. 



Notes on crude petroleum and its effect upon plants and insects were 

 presented by J. B. Smith. When the plants are dormant this may be 

 used even undiluted if the crude oil is pure, but if either gasoline or 

 paraffin has been removed the residue becomes dangerous to the trees. 

 The crude oil should not be used in summer or when the trees are in 

 foliage, 



A power sprayer for asparagus was described by F. A. Sirrine. This 

 machine sprays the plants from four directions at once, thus making 

 the treatment ver}" thorough and effective. The same author described 

 a little-known asparagus pest {Agromyza simplex) which works in the 

 cambium layer principally, damaging seedling beds more particularly. 

 It is controlled by plucking and burning infested plants. 



Other papers read before this section were Entomology in the South- 

 ern States, by H. Garman; Danger to American horticulture from the 

 introduction of scale insects, by G. B. King; Observations, on Artace 

 pimetistriga, by H. A. Morgan; and Entomological oecology, by C. W. 

 Woodworth. 



SECTION ON COLLEGE WORK. 



The only formal paper before this section was one b}^ J. K. Patterson 

 on the General drift of education at the land-grant colleges, the time 

 being occupied by discussion of various subjects. 



