239 



bisulphide was introduced and the pressure reduced to 16" ; as a 

 result all stages of the beetles were apparently killed. Cigars subjected 

 to the same treatment were smoked almost immediately after atmos- 

 pheric conditions were restored. The gold lettering in bands and 

 labels was found to tarnish, but only after a longer interval than that 

 required to destroy insect life. By this means cigars and other tobacco 

 products can therefore be fumigated in case lots, in less time and with 

 greater thoroughness than by older methods. The cost of fumigation 

 is reduced, and the tobacco products can be treated in their idtimate 

 containers. The noxious gases generated during the treatment are 

 entirely removed by the pumps. The only disadvantage is that 

 double fumigation is required in order to guarantee the product 

 to be entirely free from the pest. 



Dkiebeeg (C). Ceylon Agricultural Society ; Progress Report Ixix. — 

 Tropical Agriculturist, Peradeniya, xlvi, no. 3, March 1916, 

 pp. 188-194. 



Insects allied to the red spider of tea {Tetranychus bioculaius) 

 occurred on the diseased bark of mandarine oranges at Bentota. 

 The affected trees, especially the bark, should be dusted with flowers 

 of sulphur or sprayed with a contact poison. Banana shoots from 

 Uda Aludeniya were infested with a weevil, probably Cosmopolites 

 sordidus, Aphis sp., and a Myriapod in the root. The weevil was 

 probably the most important pest and all infested plants should be 

 burned or buried at least three feet deep with a quantity of lime. 

 Kerosene emulsion was successfully used against Aphids attacking 

 Sechium edule. Tobacco in bulk was treated with bisulphide of 

 carbon or hydrocyanic acid for the destruction of beetles, probably a 

 species of Tenebrioides. 



Howard (L. 0.) & Chittenden (F. H.). The bagworm, an injurious 

 shade-tree insect. — U. S. Dept. Agric, Washington, D.C., 

 Farmers' Bull. no. 701, 15th January 1916, 11 pp., 13 figs. 

 [Received 18th April 1916.] 



The Psychid, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, Haw. (bagworm), is a 

 native of North America and abounds in the southern United States, 

 except in the immediate Gulf region, but is also found further to the 

 north, and there are indications that it has gradually spread into this 

 territory from more southern regions. Though a general feeder, 

 T. ephemeraeformis displays a particular fondness for evergreens of all 

 kinds, especially for Arborvitae and it is probable that one of these 

 was its original food-plant. The species becomes exceedingly abundant 

 every few years, and at such times it may be found on shade, orchard 

 and forest trees of nearly every kind. It is fond of willows and maples, 

 particularly the silver maple and its varieties and the related box- 

 elder ; it is also found on poplars and mulberries, less so on elms, and 

 apparently still less so on oaks. It feeds more or less freely, however, 

 on most other trees and shrubs, and even on many low-growing plants, 

 such as elder, mallow (Hibiscus) and Ambrosia trifida (ragweed). It 

 does not seem to live on grasses and herbaceous plants. It hibernates 



