[BETHUNE] RECENT WORK IN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 13 
houses in the Bay of Quinte district and other parts of the country for 
the destruction of the injurious pea weevil—a tiny beetle that completes 
its transformations inside the pea. The seeds are inclosed in an air- 
tight bin and the bisulphide is placed in an open vessel on the top of the 
contents ; there it rapidly volatilizes, and the fumes being heavier than 
atmospheric air gradually penetrate through the whole mass and destroy 
all insect or other life that may be present. After forty-eight hours the 
bin is opened wide and the poisonous gas is allowed to escape. The 
same method is employed for the destruction of insects in stored grain, 
and was even used with complete success for the extermination of book- 
worms, which threatened with destruction the valuable public library 
at Hamilton, Bermuda. It has also been applied on a large scale to flour 
mills which had become infested with that most troublesome and seri-- 
ously injurious insect the Mediterranean flour moth (Æphestia Kuhniella, 
Zell.). A word of caution may be uttered regarding this substance. Its 
fumes are a deadly poison to all animal life and are also excessively in- 
flammable. The presence of a light or even a high degree of tempera- 
ture will cause their ignition and dangerous explosion. 
Successful experiments have recently been made in New Jersey 
with crude petroleum as an insecticide. It is applied to fruit trees dur- 
ing the winter and has been found an effective remedy for the destruc- 
tion of the eggs and pupæ of all insects that it reaches and especially for 
the San José and other scales. It is, however, premature to speak very 
confidently regarding it, as there has not yet been time to repeat the ex- 
periments in different localities and become assured of satisfactory re- 
sults. There is no doubt that petroleum will kill the insects, but there 
ig still a doubt as to whether it may not also kill the trees. 
While economic entomology is thus engaged in experimental work 
with artificial methods of destroying, injurious insects, it by no means 
overlooks the checks that nature itself imposes upon the undue multi- 
plication of any species whatever of animal or plant. All noxious insects 
in their native haunts are kept within due bounds by birds and beasts 
which feed upon them and especially by insect parasites and bacterial 
or fungous diseases. We plead therefore for the protection of insectiv- 
orous birds and for the suppression of the present abominable fashion of 
wearing the distorted bodies and plumage of useful and lovely birds as 
a supposed decoration for the hats of women. In the State of New 
York the use of a large number of birds in this manner has recently 
been prohibited by the Legislature as a misdemeanour ; it is devoutly to 
be wished that the good example thus set will be rapidly followed all 
over the world. 
