403 



Froggatt (W. W.). a Novelty in Beetle Destruction. — Agric. Gaz. 

 N.S.W., Sydney, xxxii, no. 5, May 1921, p. 342. 

 The Forestry Commission has used with success a novel method 

 of deahng with the grey-banded leaf-weevil, Ethemaia sellaia, in New 

 South Wales. This pest is very common in gardens, where both larvae 

 and adults often attack carrots and other ground vegetables. The 

 method, as described by Mr. W. Watson, Secretary to the Commission, 

 consists in watering the plants well every morning, and then dusting 

 them thoroughly with finely sifted lime, care being taken that the lime 

 also falls on the soil around each seedling. The following morning the 

 dead weevils could be gathered in numbers. There was no further 

 trouble after a week's treatment. 



Fro"ggatt (W. W.). a Garden Fly Maggot {Bibio imitator. Walker). — 



Agvic. Gaz. N.S.W., Sydney, xxxii, no. 5, May 1921, p. 362, 



4 figs. 



A brief description is given of a Bibionid fly, Bibio imitator, Wlk., 



the larvae of which feed upon vegetable substances, especialh' the 



roots of grass. 



McDonald (R. E.). Pink BoUworm Conference at Washington. — 



Mthlx. News Bull. Texas Dept. Agric, Austin, iii, no. 8, June 



1921^ p. 3. 

 At a meeting of the entomologists from all the cotton states and 

 experts of the Federal Horticultural Board held at Washington, 

 16th May 1912, the policies of the Federal and State Departments of 

 Agriculture in dealing with the pink bollworm [Platyedra gossypiella] 

 in Texas were endorsed [cf. R.A.E., A, viii, 5li ; ix, 388]. As 

 the eradication of the pest will benefit the nation at large, the funds 

 required for the maintenance of non-cotton zones should be supplied 

 jointly by the Federal and State Governments. 



Vayssiere (P.). La Lutte contre le Criquet marocain {Dociosfaurus 

 maroccanus, Thunb.) en Crau en 1920. — Ann. Epiphvties, Paris, 

 vii, no. 2, 1921, pp. 117-167, 11 plates. 



Owing to the increase of locusts, Dociosiaitrus maroccanus, Thunb., 

 previously reported [R. A.E., A, vii, 432] the measures then advised 

 were more or less completely adopted, and in 1920 an intensive campaign 

 was conducted, of which a brief account has already been noticed 

 [op. cit. ix, 137]. 



The present paper gives a very full description of the work. The 

 wide, desert-like, stony areas of the Crau region limited the character 

 of the measures applicable in it. Flame-throwers, poison-baits, 

 chloropicrin sprays and collecting sheets were used, with satisfactory 

 results. 



Attention is drawn to the nitrogen contained in locusts ; this amounts 

 to over 8 per cent, in a fresh specimen, and the percentage rises to 

 11 in a desiccated specimen, and to 14 if it is also freed from fat. The 

 financial success of a factory established in the region would seem 

 assured. Contrary to many published opinions, the action of the 

 flame-thrower does not destroy the organic matter, but simpl}^ 

 dehydrates it. 



The organisation of the campaign, which included the establishment 

 of a Defence Syndicate, is dealt with in detail, and particulars are 

 given of the measures planned for 1921. 



