102 



Frequent complaint has been made of the failure of corn to grow 

 in the South, and this explains the reason to a very considerable extent. 

 Most of Mr. Schwarz's observations were made in the vicinity of 

 Victoria, and he related having seen long, uninterrupted rows of these 

 beetles on fences when warm weather tempted them from their places 

 of concealment. Mr. Schwarz brought with him specimens of corn 

 seed that had been planted showing the holes made b}^ the ravages of 

 this insect, which ate out the germ, leaving the remainder practically 

 intact. The farmers usually attributed this failure of germination to 

 crows and other birds, and the truth has never been ascertained 

 hitherto. 



The necessity of selecting good seed for planting has been pointed 



out in Farmers' Bulletin 

 •i5, on insects affecting 

 stored grains, as well as in 

 a pamphlet entitled ''In- 

 sects Injurious to Beans 

 and Peas.-' It is now in 

 order to advise cleaner cul- 

 ture, consisting of the 

 destruction of cornstalks 

 before the insects which 

 have hibernated in them 

 issue. This is a measure 

 of the greatest value not 

 only in controlling the rice 

 weevil, but man}'^ other 

 granary insects which lead 

 a more or less outdoor ex- 

 istence in the South, such 

 as the grain beetles, Sil- 

 vanus and Cathartus, the 



Fig. 8. — Sphenopliorus obscurus: a, adult, enlarged; 6, heijd 

 of adult, from side, still more enlarged; c, full-grown 

 larva, from side; d, pupa, ventral view, both enlarged 

 (from Insect Life). 



flour beetles, Tribolium, etc., and some other species. 



THE SANDWICH ISLANDS SUGAR-CANE BORER AGAIN. 



It may be remembered by our older correspondents that we pub- 

 lished in Volume I of Insect Life, on pages 185-189, an illustrated 

 account of Sphenophorus ohscurns Boisd., a species which we mav call 

 the Sandwich Islands sugar-cane borer. We have several times received 

 this species from different sources, and some articles and shorter notes 

 have been pubHshed in regard to it, most of which are referred to in 

 the article cited. February 18, 1902, Mr. Jared (1. Smith, special 

 agent of this Department in charge of the Hawaii Experimental Sta- 

 tion at Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, wrote us from Spreckelsville, 

 Maui, in regard to severe injuries by this insect. As some of our 



