February, '09] JOURNAL OP ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 65 



the whole was covered with a conical cap, and the various species were 

 deposited beneath that. They were kept there with the hope and ex- 

 pectation that eggs would be deposited from which the larvse would 

 hatch, and that we would be able to work out the life history of each 

 of these species independently through whatever period might be nec- 

 essary, and do it in the different parts of the state, so that we should 

 get whatever variations of the life cycle the differences in tempera- 

 ture in our state might involve. But certain diflSculties have arisen, 

 and I would like to know if any of you have tried any similar experi- 

 ments and know whether there is any method of meeting these diffi- 

 culties. We had an extreme drought during all the latter part of the 

 summer season, and the tiles dried out to the bottom and did not be- 

 come wet again. The core of earth baked hard and shrank away from 

 the tile on all sides, which exposed it to the sun and allowed it to 

 bake like a solid cake which could be moved about. I have supposed, 

 and it has been suggested to me, that we had ' ' broken the connection, ' ' 

 as they say between the soil water and the water in the tile to such an 

 extent that the water which should have risen up in the tile did not 

 do so because of a layer of air in the gravel or broken tile. Now, I 

 would hardly put a question of this kind if we didn't have plenty 

 of time and, in the second place, because it is a piece of work which, 

 so far as I know, no one else is undertaking, unless the United States 

 department may have taken it up this year, and I feel, consequently, 

 that I am undertaking a piece of work that we are all interested in, 

 and if I carry it through, you will not have to do so. 



Mb. Washburn: Mr. Chairman, couldn't you use a variety of 

 very fine gauze, wire gauze, for your cylinder, that wouldn't inter- 

 rupt the moisture ? 



PREsroENT Forbes : I have supposed that the wire gauze wouldn 't 

 last for the length of time we supposed it would be necessary to 

 maintain this experiment. 



Mr. Marlatt: I was going to suggest that a bronze wire might 

 meet the need; such as the best grade of bronze wire now used in 

 houses. I fancy that that would be fairly durable, and, by making 

 a cylinder with it, it might work. 



Another idea occurred to me, based on the experience with breeding 

 the Cicada. You remember that half a dozen or more attempts were 

 made to carry the Cicada through, all failing, except the last, on ac- 

 count of the lack of abundance of material. It occurred, to me that 

 perhaps that method could be adopted in your work, namely, sur- 

 rounding a large area, say, several yards, or even a rod, in diameter, 

 with a net, in which you can enclose fifty, or a hundred, or a thou- 



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