87 



tured and placed in a gli^ss. The glass was thoroughly wra]iped up in a folded 

 sheet, then in a [)air of blankets, and then in a quilt. At the close of the experi- 

 ment these insects were all found dead. As to pasting up cracks, I discovered 

 that inch strips of newspaper, soaked for some time in water, and patted into 

 place with the hand, would make an excellent gas check for any reasonable 

 length of time, and afterwards would come off easily without requiring hours 

 of labor 



SINGULAR INCREASE OF " LERP " ON TREES OF THE '"' YELLOW BOX." 



When traveling on the train between Melbourne and Macedon, I 

 noticed a patch of probably some hnndreds of acres of land on which 

 the trees of Eucalyptus melliodora appeared to be covered with snow, 

 but which on close inspection proved to be an enormous number of the 

 lerp insect {Lasiofsylla rotundipennis Frogg.), covering the leaves 

 so closely as to give the trees the aspect before alluded to. I can not 

 account for this abnormal increase, as, although the lerp insects are 

 common enough in the forests arotmd Melbourne, never before in over 

 fifty years of occasional bush life have I seen these singular wa.w 

 coverings in such great profusion. This season has been a hot one, 

 and the lerp is by no means confined to the one species of Eucalyptus. 

 It will be interesting to note how far the trees will be affected, and I 

 hope to supplement this short note very soon. — Charles French, 

 Government EntomohxiUt for Vktorki^ Australia. 



A RED Sl'IDER ON COTTON. 



Under instructions from the Entomologist the writer proceeded, 

 July I) to 10, 1904, to Batesburg, S. C, in order to ascertain the pri- 

 mary cause of injury to cotton which had been reported in that 

 section, whether red spider or some disease of the plant. 



On the plantation of Mr. E. F. Strothers was fotnid a small field of 

 cotton in which a red spider was becoming common. The field was 

 first attacked, according to Mr. Strothers, on the south side, or nearest 

 the road, and was found infested for a distance of some 200 or 300 

 yards into the field. Some plants were already derfd, while others 

 had lost nearly all of their leaves. The leaves at first have the pecul- 

 iar scarlet appearance due to the attack of this mite. This coloring 

 occurs between the larger ribs, near the base of a leaf, and gradually 

 spreads in all directions. As the injury becomes common over the 

 leaf, the red color dies out, giving place to a dirty yellow, which later 

 fades out, and the leaf shrivels and falls. Larger and older leaves 

 are attacked first and soon commence to curl; younger leaves, when 

 attacked, do not curl until injury has spread quite extensively over 

 the leaf. The mites also attack the squares, flowers, bolls, and stems. 



These mites were found on five plantations in and around Bates- 

 burg, and in every case north or northeast of water oak or elm trees 



