February, '16] CURRENT NOTES 251 



conditions in regard to the temperature, humidity, and the carbon dioxid and oxygen 

 content of the surrounding air. The water vapor and the carbon dioxid given off 

 by the bees under these different conditions are also determined. Mr. W. A. Parks 

 of Washington, D. C, has been appointed as student assistant and assigned to this 

 work. 



Mr. Neale F. Howard, Bureau of Entomology, who has been working on root 

 maggots and other insects at Green Bay, Wis., has entered Ohio University, Colum- 

 bus, Ohio, for a postgraduate course, under the direction of Professor Herbei-t Osborn. 

 Mr. Howard reports that tarred felt pads, first invented by Goff, have been used 

 by some of the gardeners in the vicinity of Green Bay since the early 90's and with 

 perfect success. When made of the right material and properly placed the percentage 

 of efficiency is practically 100. It is not apphcable to cabbage in seed beds, but if 

 it could be adapted to the control of the onion maggot, a near relative, it would be 

 an ideal method. 



Science states that the equipment of the department of entomology at the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois, and of the natural history survey of that state, receives a notable 

 addition in the new vivarium building in Champaign, which will contain a large 

 insectary for student use, with three laboratory rooms in connection, an apparatus, 

 furnished conjointly by the university and the State Laboratory of Natural History, 

 for temperature and humidity control in the study of insect life-histories, and a set 

 of experimental aquaria fitted up for exact studies on the ecology of fresh-water 

 animals. The insectary and entomological laboratories will be under the charge 

 of Dr. R. D. Glasgow, and the state laboratory equipment under that of Dr. V. E. 

 Shelford, of the laboratory staff. 



The following note was printed in Science: "At the two hundred and ninety-first 

 regular meeting of the Entomological Society of Washington the constitution was 

 amended so as to permit the election of an honorary president, such office to be ten- 

 dered only to active members who have been especially prominent in the affairs of 

 the society and to convey with it expiessions of gratitude, respect and honor. After 

 creating this oifice, the society elected unanimou.«ly Mr. E. A. Schwarz as first honor- 

 ary piesident. Mr. Schwarz was one of the charter members of the society, has held 

 the office of president for two terms, vice-president for a number of terms, and secre- 

 tary for a number of terms and has taken an active interesc in the affairs of the society. 

 He has attended every meeting of the society when he has been in Washington, has 

 contributed greatly to its financial support and has entertained the society more than 

 any other member. He is an internationally recognized authority on Coleoptera and 

 has contributed materially to the advancement of his favorite group and also to the 

 general science of entomology." 



The following note occurs in the November News Letter of the Bureau of Entomol- 

 ogy: In a memorandum to this office dated November 6, 1915, Dr. W. D. Hunter, 

 in charge Southern Field Crop Insect Investigations, stated: "The recent hurri- 

 cane injured practically every building in New Orleans, La., more or less, and hun- 

 dreds were completely demoHshed. . . . Many of the exposed beams were 

 mined by insects and in many cases at least this weakening of the timbers was an 

 important contributory cause of the loss." The insects usually responsible for this 

 type of injury are termites and "powder post " beetles. Damage to timbers of build- 

 ings by termites is occasionally serious even in the northern states. "Powder post" 

 beetles also often seriously injure the beams of buildings. But this is the first 

 instance of the interrelation of storms and insects in the destruction of buildings 



