68 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



was brought under my notice some time back, and 1 thought 

 it right first to ascertain what steps had been taken by 

 foreign Governments in the matter. I find that the only 

 Governments which have taken any real action are those of 

 Austria and Belgium. The former has assured the Govern- 

 ment of Switzerland, which had warned the European 

 maritime countries of the possible danger, that the importa- 

 tion of American potatoes would be prohibited ; and the 

 Belgian Government has introduced a Bill for a similar 

 purpose, which has been agreed to by a special committee. 

 I have also made enquiries as to the nature and extent of the 

 evil to be apprehended. I think there is reason to suppose 

 that the harm recently done to the American potato crop has 

 been much exaggerated, and I am informed that the insect 

 in question has been known in America for more than a 

 century. It attacks the stalks and leaves of the potato- 

 plant, not the root, though that naturally becomes diseased 

 in consequence. No potato-stalks or leaves are imported 

 from America, and, as only healthy roots would be imported, 

 it would seem hardly possible that the insect could be thus 

 conveyed into this country. I am now in communication with 

 the English Privy Council on the subject, because it is obvious 

 that if any preventive measures are adopted they ought to 

 apply to the whole of Great Britain, as well as to Ireland. 

 But I must add that the importation of potatoes into the 

 United Kingdom, especially in the event of a failure of the 

 home crop, is very large, and therefore any interference with 

 this trade would require the most careful consideration on the 

 part of Her Majesty's Government," — Edward Newman.} 



Bee Keeping. — The British Bee-keeper's Association, 

 instituted in May last, "for the encouragement, improvement, 

 and advancement of Bee-culture in the United Kingdom," 

 under the Presidency of Sir John Lubbock, held its first 

 exhibition at the Crystal Palace in September last. This 

 institution is calculated to confer important benefits upon the 

 rural population by diffusing information as to the most 

 approved principles of Apiculture, in the management of the 

 hives, the collection of the produce, the preservation of the 

 combs, and other matters, whereby the most profitable results 

 may be obtained, thus holding out encouragement to many 

 who have been deterred from embarking in such a lucrative 



