285 



season. In addition there are always years in which the host 

 dominates the parasite and k)sses among fruit-growers will therefore 

 increase if spraying operations are not continued. 



Experiments with Green Bolls of Sea Island Cotton. — Agric. News, 

 Barbados, xix, no. 468, 3rd April 1920, p. 101. 



The Spence-Harvey system of treating green cotton bolls is said to 

 lessen materially the damage caused by the boll weevil [Anthonotnus 

 (/rand is] in the United States. Under this system the bolls are gathered 

 while green and mechanically matured by a special process ; they are 

 then treated by special machinery so as to extract the cotton. Only 

 two machines are at present in operation, though it is expected that 

 upwards of a 100 will be made during 1920. 



Barber (E. R.). The Argentine Ant as a Household Pest. — U. S, 

 Dept. Agric, Washington, D. C. Farmers' Bull. 1101, March 

 1920, 11 pp., 3 figs. [Received 17th May 1920.] 



Much of the information on Irrdomyrmex humilis given here has 

 already been noticed [R.A.E., A, i, 325; v, 422 ; vi, 313]. 



The following poison is recommended : — 9 lb. granulated sugar, 

 9 pints water, 6 grams tartaric acid (crystallized), sodium benzoate 

 8'4 grams ; these should be boiled for 30 minutes and allow^ed to oooL 

 At the same time 15 grams sodium arsenite (C. P.) should be dissolved 

 in hot water and cooled. The poison should then be thoroughly 

 stirred into the syrup and the whole carefully mixed with 1| lb. of 

 honey. Accuracy in the details of this mixture is important. It is 

 weak in action, with the result that it is continually attended, the 

 workers carrying it to the nest and feeding it to the queen and the 

 larvae, until eventually the entire colony is exterminated. A strong 

 poison, on the other hand, may kill a few workers, but the others will 

 quickly recognise and avoid it. Weakly poisoned syrup should be 

 placed outside an infested house to attract the ants away from it. 

 The best container is a can so dented that the ants can get in under 

 the hd, while the lid still keeps out rain. A sponge should be floated 

 in the syrup, or a sponge, dipped in it. may be placed in a paraffined 

 paper bag pierced with holes to admit the ants, and another paper 

 bag, similarly waterproofed , used to cover the whole from the weather. 



Edmundson (W. C.) & Welch (J. S.). The Home Garden in Idaho. — 

 Univ. Idaho Agric. Expt. Sta. (Dept. Hortic.) Moscow, Id., Bull. 

 106, February 1918, 30 pp., 12 figs. [Received 17th May 1920.] 



A short description of the bionomics and control of the following 

 garden pests is given : — the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa 

 (lecemlineata, controlled by sprays of lead arsenate or Paris green ; 

 the potato flea-beetle. Epitrix cucumeris, by the same sprays, used 

 with Bordeaux mixture ; cabbage worms, Pieris (Pontia) rapae, by 

 lead arsenate dust or in a spray with soap added ; cabbage aphis, 

 Brevicoryne (Aphis) brassicae , and melon aphis (A. gossypii), by Black- 

 leaf 40 or kerosene emulsion sprayed at high pressure ; the tomato 

 worm, Protoparce (Phlegethontius) sexta, by hand-picking or lead 

 arsenate sprays ; the pea Bruchid [Bruchus pisorum] by fumigation of 



