90 



Besides the above a great deal of interesting matter concerning these insects is to 

 be found in Westwood's " Modern Classification of Insects." It is there stated that " of 

 all vegetable food they prefer potatoes; but if raw meat were offered thorn they attacked 

 it in preference to anything else with great greediness. Gould also states that he fed a 

 Mole Cricket for several months on ants." 



Remedies. — There would seem to be no doubt that where these insects occur, as is 

 sometimes the case, in large numbers that they cause serious injury to crops. The best 

 remedy would probably be poisoning the adults either by dipping slices of potato or raw meat 

 in some mixture containing arsenic, as White Arsenic, Paris green or London purple, and 

 then placing these in or near their burrows. In Germany, where they are often abundant, 

 says Dr. Bos, " The best remedy is the destruction of the nests, preferably in June. These 

 are sought for in spots where the plants are dead and weakly. The nest must be 

 carefully taken out whole when its presence has been ascertained by the finger. 



Flower pots with their holes plugged may be used as traps by burying them m 

 the ground so that thfir edge be on a level with the burrows. 



The insects pair in the spring, and in early summer they may be entrapped 

 in glazed pots partly filled with water and sunk up to their edges in the alleys between 

 the beds. 



Pouring water in the burrows has also been recommended, and the Mole Crickets 

 are then killed when they have thus been driven out, but I doubt the efficiency of this 

 method, as the insect has more than one entrance to its retreat. 



Finally, horse manure may towards winter be thrown into ditches between the 

 beds of vegetable or flower gardens. The Mole Crickets like warmth ; they can thus 

 be enticed into the manure and then killed." 



The figure (18) used above has been kindly lent to me by Prof. J. A. Lintner, and is 

 the same as was used to illustrate the article cited in his Sixth Report. 



NOTES ON JAPANESE INSECTS. 



BY W. HAGUE HARRINGTON, OTTAWA. 



My absence from Canada during the past summer interrupted my studies of our own 

 insects, and has prevented me from preparing any paper upon them. I venture, however, 

 to offer a lew observations of a general character upon the insect fauna noted in my some- 

 what extended travels in the Sunrise Kingdom ; my object being briefly to indicate 

 wherein the fauna of that country more closely resembles, or difi"ers from, that of Canada. 

 Leaving out the many small islands which stretch far to the north and south, we find 

 that the four large ones (Yezo, Hondo, Shikoku, and Kiushiu) which constitute Japan 

 extend from 31" north latitude to 45° north latitude, or in other words, from the latitude 

 of New Orleans to that of Ottawa ; the capital, Tokio, (and Yokohama) being in the lati- 

 tude of Cape Hatteras. This extent of one thousand miles from north to south aff'urds 

 room for much variation of climate, which is further greatly influenced by the Kuroshiwo 

 or Black Stream (the Gulf Stream of the Pacific), and by other currents flowing along the 

 coasts and between the islands. The country is also intersected by many mountain 

 ranges, and has many lofty peaks, some of which are active volcanoes. The naturalist 

 may find in a few hours' climb upon one of these mountains almost as great a range of 

 vegetation as if he travelled to the northern extremity of the empire. As an instance of 

 such changes in the flora I may mention that in a trip from the railway station at Go- 

 emba to the summit of Fuji-san the first four miles of our road ran through fine cultivated 

 fields with a light soil composed largely of fine ashes thrown out by tlie volcano in past 

 ages. Then from the village of Nakabata there was the same distance over a plain cov- 

 ered with wild grasses and flowering herbs, intermixed with shrubs and a few stunted 



