142 



tlie lead sheathing protecting overhead telephone wires, allowing 

 moisture to enter the cable, and disorganising communication by 

 destroying the insulation. At present, no suitable means of preventing 

 this damage is known, as the cost of painting the cables with a repellent 

 mixture would be too great. 



HiTiER (H.). La Pi6ride du Chou. [Pieris brassicae.] — Jl. d'Agric, 

 Pratique, Paris, xxxi, no. 2, 24th January 1918, p. 37. 



In 1917 an outbreak of Pieris brassicae occurred in Brittany of such 

 severity that whole fields of forage and kitchen-garden cabbages were 

 destroyed, nothing remaining of the plants but the stems and midribs 

 of the larger leaves. Fortunately the larvae were so heavily parasitised 

 by a Braconid, Microgaster sp., that the pest was held in check, though 

 the numbers of the second generation showed that it is unwise to trust 

 solely to this natural control. 



Teabut (Dr.). Les Abris a Altises. [Shelter-plants for Haltica.] — 

 Bull. Agric. Alger. Tun. Maroc, Algiers, xxiv, no. 1, Januarv 

 1918, pp. 9-10. 



The depredations of Haltica ampelophaga in Algeria, which have been 

 in abeyance for some years, have recently taken place again to an 

 extent necessitating special methods of control on the part of vine- 

 growers. The simplest and cheapest seems to be that of pro\'iding 

 winter-shelters near the vines in the form of hardy perennial plants in 

 which the pest hides and in which it can be easily destroyed before its 

 emergence in the spring. Plants suited to this purpose include : 

 Pennisetum vilhsum and P. rwppelianum,, Chloris gayana, Mischantus 

 sinensis, Andropogon muricatus, Oryzopis miliacea, Festuca, arundinacea 

 and Aniholyssa aetJiiopica. 



When sheltering in this low herbage, the beetle is in a position that 

 lends itself to attack by the fungus Sporotrichum, which can be easily 

 disseminated, by placing infected individuals in situations as yet free 

 from the fungus. New cultures may be obtained from the Pasteur 

 Institute. The torpid hibernating insects can also be destroyed by 

 fire or -with, insecticides. 



GiROLA (C. D.). Instrucciones populares sobre el Cultivo del Trigo en 

 Argentina. [Popular Instructions for the Cultivation of Wheat 

 in the Argentine.] — Anales Soc. Rural Argentina, Buerios Aires, 

 li, no. 2, March- April 1917, pp. 185-212. [Received 31st January 

 1918.] 



In the course of these notes on wheat-growing a section is devoted 

 to insect pests and diseases liable to attack growing wheat. Ants 

 should be kept from the young wheat-plants by destruction of the ant- 

 hills whenever possible with carbon bisulphide, cyanide of potassium 

 or ant- exterminating machines. The nests should, if possible, be 

 plastered over. Winged locusts should be frightened away by noise, 

 smoke, or similar methods, while the hoppers should be kept from the 

 wheat by trenches and ditches, or destroyed by naphtha or any of the 

 well-known insecticides. Various pests attack wheat both in the green 



