83 



species have come to ray knowledge. The Icerya roste from Key West and limited in its 

 range ; Icerya ^^Igyptiacum, from Alexandria, Egypt ; Icerya Montserratensis occurs on 

 the island of Montserrat, W.I., and Icerya Palmeri, found by Dr. Eilward Palmer, in 

 1887, upon a grape vine in the province of Sonora, New Mexico, but only on the Muscat 

 of Alexandria variety. The practical lesson to be learned is, that our fruit growers of 

 Florida, Texas and California should take every care to quarantine all plants from infected 

 foreign points until examination shows them free from such pests. — Dr. G. V. Riley ; ibid. 



USEFULNESS OP TOADS. 



At Greeley, Colorado, two species of leaf- roller moths were very abundant and 

 destructive in their attacks upon fruit and other trees. Mr. Gillette in closing his ob- 

 servations upon them says : "While speaking of the remedies for leaf -rollers, I should do 

 wrong not to mention the valuable services of the toads. One of the most interesting 

 sights that came under my observation in Greeley last summer was the large number of 

 well-fed toads that hopped lazily about on the walks under the trees from morning to 

 night, looking for leaf-roller caterpillars that were dropping on every side. The rollers 

 were usually snapped in by the toads even before they could reach the ground. As many 

 as fifty of these toads were counted under a single tree, and it was not uncommon for 

 people to take the middle of the street to avoid the toads along the walk. Toads seldom 

 do harm and feed almost entirely upon insects, and should be carefully protected as they 

 are decidedly beneficial." — Colorado Bulletin No. 19. 



BOOK NOTICES. 



A Text Book of Agricultural Entomology : Being a guide to the Methods of Insect 

 Life and means of prevention of Insect Ravage. For the use of Agriculturists and 

 Agricultural Students. By Eleanor A. Ormerod. Second Edition — London : Simp- 

 kin, Marshall & Co., 1892. One vol., pp. 238 ; 164 figures ; Crown 8vo. 



About nine years ago Miss Ormerod delivered a series of ten Lectures for the Insti- 

 tute of Agriculture in England, and afterwards published them in book-form as " A Guide 

 to Methods of Insect Life." This proved to be an excellent and highly useful work, but 

 was not in much demand until recently, when it was found to contain the information 

 that was required in this department of agricultural in3traction, and accordingly the 

 necessity of a second edition speedily arose. The result is the work before us, in which the 

 authoress has expanded her original lectures and produced an admirable text-book for 

 the use of students and others interested in Economic Entomology. 



The first two chapters of the book give an account of the structure and transforma- 

 tions of insects, describing their varied conditions of life in the larval, pupal and perfect 

 states, and a brief explanation of the various orders and their characteristics. Any intelli- 

 gent reader will get a vexy fair elementary idea of Entomology by studying these two chap- 

 ters, and they are written so clearly and in such simple language, as free as possible from 

 technicnlities, the few employed being always explained — that they can be fully grasped 

 by any one of the most ordinary attainments. 



The next two chapters deal with Flies (Diptera) and Fleas (Aphaniptera). The 

 principal species that cause injury to the farmers by their attacks upon his crops and live- 

 stock are treated in detail, and the best modes of opposing their ravages are clearly and 

 succinctly given. In describing the Wheat Midge (Cecidomi/ia trifici) the authoress says : 

 " In Canada, or where the weather can be reckoned on and the date of appear- 

 ance of the Wheat Midge can be reckoned on also, injury from attack is avoided by sow- 

 ing so that the wheat shall flower be/ore or after this special time. In one case the young 

 grain is too firm for the Red Maggot to hurt it ; in the other, the flower and germ is not 

 far enough advanced for there to be anything to attack until the Wheat Midge has passed 



