60 



ViTKovsKY (N.). OHepeflHbin saAaHM SHTOMonorHHecKaro rioAOTAtna 

 EHarepMH. FyO. Sbmckom YnpaBU. [The immediate tasks of the 

 Entomological Branch of the Zematvo of the govt, of Ekaterino- 

 slav.] — « lOlKHOe Xo3flMCTBO.» [Southern Husbandry], Alexand- 

 rovsk, no. 12, 13th July 1914, pp. 435-437. [Received 4th January 

 1915.] 



Attention is called to the establishment of an Entomological Branch 

 by the Zemstvo of the government of Ekaterinoslav, the objects of 

 which are to assist the public in controlling agricultural pests, etc. 

 The methods by which the Branch intends to conduct its work ar© 

 detailed. 



Veemoeel (V.) & Dantony (E.). Pourquoi les verdets nentres rou- 

 gissent le tournesol, [Why neutral copper acetates redden htmus 

 paper.] — Progres Agric. Vitic., Mont'pdlier, kii, no. 30, 26th July 

 1914, pp. 112-114. 



Both acid and neutral copper acetates redden litmus test paper, 

 which is therefore useless as a test for acidity. 



All water soluble copper salts scorch the vine if applied in sufiBcient 

 strength for a sufficiently long time, and neutral copper acetate is no 

 exception to this rule. A simple solution of copper sulphate dries 

 rapidly and scorching occurs if any moisture subsequently re-dissolves 

 the salt. To prevent this, the copper sulphate is replaced by other 

 compounds which are insoluble, and this is what is aimed at in the 

 preparation of Bordeaux and Burgundy mixtures. Neutral copper 

 acetate is transformed by drying into insoluble basic acetate. Rapid 

 drying means a rapid transformation, and scorching is therefore 

 present to some slight extent if the appUcation be made in damp 

 weather. At first sight it may therefore be thought that copper 

 acetates are inferior to other sprays if the application has to be made 

 in wet weather, but in practice the opposite is the case. Vine-growers 

 find that leaves which are slightly scorched by copper acetate are 

 better preserved from mildew. It would appear that the prolonged 

 presence on the leaves of a concentrated solution of a copper salt has 

 a more antiseptic action than that of the very weak Bordeaux or Bur- 

 gundy mixtures, even if they be correctly prepared. Hence the 

 superiority of copper acetates. 



FuLLEB (C). The pumpkin stem-borer {Apomecyna binubUa, Pasc.) 

 — Agric. Jl. Union S, Africa, Pretoria, viii, no. 2, August 1914, 

 pp. 240-242, 3 figs. 



This small Longicorn beetle occurs along the Natal coast, southward 

 into the eastern Cape Colony, is abundant at Pietermaritzburg, and 

 possibly has a much wider range inland. It attacks curcurbitaceous 

 crops and there is some evidence that the insect is at least two-brooded. 

 Observations made during May in Pietermaritzburg showed that the 

 parent beetle lays an egg in the leaf-stalk near the base, and the young 

 borer, before entering the main stem, feeds sufficiently upon the tissue 

 of the stalk to kill the leaf. A great number of borers may inhabit a 

 single stem, and several larvae or their cocoons have been found a few 



