1904 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 11 



Mr. Fisher said that it liad been recommended to plough rye under 

 where melons were to be planted on the supposition that the Wire-worm 

 would find enough food in the rye and would leave the roots of the melons 

 alone. 



Dr. Fletcher replied that the theory was incorrect, as rye was dis- 

 tasteful to these worms and kept them away. If wheat or oats were plough- 

 ed under instead they would be attracted. A cause of the trouble in the case 

 of melons was that the large quantity of manure employed served as a great 

 attraction to the "Wire-worms. The reason for the ploughing that he recom- 

 mended was that the insect became mature in the second autumn after the 

 eggs were laid ; ploughing in August destroys them in the pupa state, and 

 the repetition in September disturbs the beetles in the ground and by bring- 

 ing them to the surface ensures the death of a large proportion. 



Mr. Evans said that he had known acres of tomatoes to be destroyed by 

 Wire- worms. 



Mr. Fisher stated that he had observed the same thing. He had also 

 found that if tomatoes were sown early and well-grown in hot-beds before 

 planting out, they were then large, over-grown and tender; if the weather 

 should be unfavorable, the lower leaves became blighted. Much the same 

 thing happened with potatoes which had grown rapidly. This year in his 

 neighborhood the Colorado beetle had in many cases left the potato plants 

 and attacked the tomatoes, causing much destruction; it had also been very 

 bad on egg-plant. 



Dr. Fletcher said that the Colorado beetle was worst of all on egg- 

 plant, very bad on potatoes and least injurious to tomatoes. 



Mr. Fisher next referred to the Squash-bug (Fig. 2), commonly called 

 the "Stink-bug" and sometimes ''the Bishop-bug" (Anasa tristis). Though 

 it had been abundant and very injurious for a long time, this year he had 

 seen none. Last year it took three days to get 20 tons of pumpkins for his 

 canning factory; this year 30 tons were procured in two hours — thanks large- 

 ly to the absence of this bug. As a general rule it was difficult to grow 

 pumpkins, owing to the destruction of the foliage by the Squash-bug. The 

 striped Cucumber beetle was, however, as abundant and injurious as ever; 

 he had been informed that it might be got rid of by watering with a solu- 

 tion of one pound of saltpetre in ten gallons of water. 



Dr. Fletcher stated that in all his experience he had never known in- 

 sects of all sorts so scarce as they were this year, and this was the case from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific. Other members from different parts of the 

 country corroborated the statement. 



