Packard.] INSECTS OF THE FOEEST. 227 



forms. Brilliant green and golden Buprestids may be seen 

 sunning themselves on the trunks of the trees, and the olive 

 green Monohammus beetles so destructive to pines fl^'ing 

 among the trees or emerging from their holes in the trunks. 

 The Urocerus, a saw-fly like the Tremex, one of the charac- 

 teristic insects of pine forests sails around in its circling 

 flight, and pine weevils and timber beetles open their wings 

 in the heat of the sun. The weeds, nearly all of European 

 origin, crowd out the aboriginal inhabitants, and with their 

 rank growth hedge about the cabin. "With them have ar- 

 rived the usual proportion of imported insects, but most 

 characteristic of the northern forests are the Arthemis but- 

 terfl}^, the banded Buprestis, the pine weevils, the russet 

 geometrid moth and others. 



If the destruction of forests goes on as rapidly as at pres- 

 ent all these forest insects will soon have lost their occupa- 

 tion. We shall then have to plant new forests, as they have 

 and are doing in portions of northern Italy, in Austria, Ger- 

 many and Great Britain. When this is done and the young 

 trees are growing in extensive plantations, the danger aris- 

 ing from the ravages of destructive insects will be very 

 great. As in Europe, we shall have to make chairs of for- 

 estry in our agricultural colleges, and appoint commissioners 

 of forests. Then, if not at the present daj^ a thorough and 

 practical knowledge of forest insects will be one of the 

 guarantees to success in the cultivation of trees. At pres- 

 ent Germany leads the civilized world in the intelligent care 

 of her replanted forests. How carefully the trees are nur- 

 tured, how intelligently their diseases are studied, and with 

 what pains the habits and forms of the destructive insects 

 are described and drawn, is well known. The elaborate and 

 beautifully illustrated works of the late Dr. Ratzeburg have 

 made his name famous, and they form a perpetual witness to 

 the intelligence and forethought of the people who encourage 

 by their patronage the publication of such expensive and 



