854 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



C. French, F.L.8., F.E.8. 



lu submitting my report for tlie past year I have the honour to 

 state that the work in this branch is increasing rapidly, the past and 

 present seasons being specially favourable to the development of 

 insect pests of every description, the number of specimens sent to me 

 for identification and report being largely on the increase. 



Reports. 



Reports on the following subjects have been furnished, viz. : — 

 " San Jose Scale," " Mistletoe on Forest Trees," " Onion Diseases at 

 Drysdale," " Banana Question," " South African Eegulations," " St. 

 John's Wort," "Caterpillars at Labour Colony and Elsewhere," 

 " Proposed Dipping of Fruit-cases," "Codlin Moth," "Root-borer, 

 etc.," "Prosecutions in Markets," and on a number of minor subjects. 



Correspondence. 



The correspondence connected with this branch, although much 

 similar in point of matter to that of last year, is on the increase, no 

 less than 4,283 letters having been entered in the letter-book, but 

 this number does not include the whole of the official correspondence 

 with the head office, much of the latter, for the sake of economy, not 

 being recorded excepting in the copying book kept for the purpose, 

 and the same degree of punctuality in replying to correspondence of 

 all kinds is most rigorously observed, and friendly intercourse with 

 fellow workers in many parts kept up with the usual mutual benefits. 



Literary Work. 



In literary work the principal has been the contributions by myself 

 to the Journal of Agriculture, and only the fact of great pressure of 

 work has prevented further contributions to this useful publication. 

 I am pleased to say that the foi-mer edition of 9,000 copies of Part I. 

 of my work on the Destructive Insects of Victoria has been exhausted, 

 and a further edition of the same sanctioned by the Hon. the Minister 

 of Agriculture. It is a matter of pleasure to myself that so large a 

 number has, at a satisfactory price, been disposed of, also that the 

 demand for Parts II. and III. is still good. The plates and a portion 

 of the MSS. for Part IV. are well under way, and a large number of 

 inquiries for these have already been made. Contributions have also 

 been made to the Government Statist's Report for the year 1902, and 

 will be continued. 



Investigations and Experiments. 



Through the kindness of Mr. Roeding, Fresno, California, a 

 number of Blastophaga, or " Fig Wasps " were introduced for 



