168 Forty-second Report on the State Museum. [26] 



thirty feet from the tree. Several maples in the track were invaded. 

 Salt was strewn on the flagstones to kill them, but many reached the 

 maples outside. I do not find that a single one crossed the road. 

 Where they disappeared to I can not imagine. 



I know of but four larches about the village — two of them fine, 

 good-sized trees. Of two smaller ones, one quite small, had some of 

 the worms upon it, and the foliage shows that it had been eaten, but 

 only a little. The other is embowered among maples, and does not 

 seem to show any injury. But the two large trees are very much 

 strij)ped, only a few of the lower branches retaining any foliage. 

 The second of them is on Miss Roseboom's place. * * * * 

 In this case also, the worms crept in an easterly direction, going up a 

 pine, some hemlocks, and a horse chestnut — " millions of them," as I 

 am told. 



I had a man climb both the larch and a maple at Mr Lansing's 

 in search of the saw-flies, but he could find hardly one. We then 

 began to discover apparently dead ones, then a few living ones. 

 But it seemed surprising that so few should be discoverable. Further 

 search revealed more living ones just beneath the ground and among 

 the moss at the roots of the tree, especially under the larch. Finally 

 we were led to conclude that the brown cocoons, of which there 

 seemed to be a great number, must belong to them. I inclose the 

 whole collection in a box and send it to you. * * * * 

 It was only last Thursday (July seventh), that the worm was first 

 observed. 



A diagram of a portion of the village accompanied the above com- . 

 munication, showing streets, residences, the location of the trees, direc- 

 tion of the migrations, etc. — evincing the interest excited by the 

 appearance and movements of the new visitor. 



In Schoharie county. — The following paragraph from the Country 

 Gentleman of July 14, 1887, refers, without doubt, to the operations of 

 the larch saw-fly larva. 



The tamarack trees in this section are infested with multitudes of 

 rather small, green worms with black heads, which are stripping them 

 of their foliage. — Sharon Centre, N. Y., July 8, 1887. 



Personal Observations in Hamilton County. 

 During a visit to the southern portion of the Adirondack region, 

 July fourteenth to August fifth, the opportunity was offered of making 

 a few observations on this insect. The season at this time was too far 

 advanced to note the attack either at its commencement or its height. 

 All of the larches within sight of the stage route from Newton's 

 Corners, at the foot of Lake Pleasant, to Sageville at its head, a dis- 

 tance of four miles, had been almost entirely stripped at the earliest 

 date above named. The trees of this species of which there are 

 many, in some places it being the prevailing growth, could be recog- 

 nized at the greatest distance from which they could be seen by their 



