80 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO. 



this moth as a basis, he pointed out that a comparatively trifling tax only would be 

 necessary to raise a sum safficient to control the pesi, and wa? very strongly of the 

 opinion that the work of the Commission should be upheld and continued. 



Mr. Howard said he was familiar with the work of the Commission and had gone 

 over the territory and examined the methods of procedure in detail somewhat recently, 

 and was convinced that anyone, seeing the operations and the results already reached, 

 would be impressed with the fact that the work is now being done in the best possible 

 way and according to methods which are most likely to accomplish the ultimate exterm- 

 ination aimed at. He offered a resolution regarding the work of the Commission, which 

 was subseqently acted upon by the Association. 



SpSf Mr. Lintner said he had been one of the first called to inspect the work and the 

 conditions of the work, and had been deeply impressed with the amount of exertion 

 necessary and the difficulties of successfully prosecuting it. He also had been most 

 favorably impressed with the value of the methods at present employed. Whether 

 ultimate extermination would prevail or not was at present, of course, merely a matter 

 of opinion, but he was convinced of the necessity of continuing the work on the basis 

 of extermination rather than mere control. 



The next paper was read by Mr. Lintner on the striped " Cottonwood Beetle " in 

 which he drew attention to the threatened destruction of the basket-willow industry of 

 Onondaga and some other counties of western New York, from the ravages of an insect 

 which has long been known as the striped cottonwood beetle, Lina scripta Fabr,, but 

 which hitherto has not been regarded as injurious. After describing the insect and its 

 habits, and giving an account of the willow industry and its commercial importance he re- 

 lated the methods which had been made use of to control the insect and especially drew 

 attention to a mechanical contrivance, called a " bug catcher " which had proved very 

 effective for the collection and destruction of the beetles. 



Mr. Webster read a somewhat technical paper on the probable origin of the genus 

 Diabrotica. This was followed by a paper by Mr. Hopkins of Morgantown, West Va 



ON THE STUDY OF FOREST-TREE INSECTS. 



The study of the insects affecting forest growth, from an economic standpoint, is 

 in many respects a unique branch of economic entomology, which should in our opinion 

 be designated by the term " forestry entomology." 



The importance of advancement of knowledge in this particular branch of science 

 may be inferred from some references to the character of insect injuries to forest growth; 

 to estimates of the amount of damage and the annual pecuniary loss occasioned by such 

 iniuries • to the limited knowledge of this class of insects, and to the possibilities of pre- 

 ventinc a lar^e per cent, of the loss by the adoption of simple, practical methods of com- 

 bating the pests. 



Character of Injuries. 



The injuries to forest growth may be separated into two classes, those affecting the 

 livin» plants and those affecting the dead or dying plants. Of the former we have injuries 

 to the foliage by leaf-eating, leaf-mining, sap-sucking, and gall-making insects ; to the 

 twigs and branches by sap-sucking, twig mining, bark and wood boring insects ; to the 

 trunk by bark and wood-boring, and to the roots by wood-boring, bark-boring and sap- 

 suckino- species ; the effect of the injuries thus caused upon the living plant being either 

 destructive or detrimental to its growth or usefulness. 



The injuries of a destructive character are those caused by insects which occur in 

 sufficient numbers and make their attack in such a manner as to destroy or weaken the 

 vitality of the tree sufficient to be the prmiary cause of its death. 



