REPORT OF STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 1899 575 
others open. Only one lot was found in the woods uncovered by leaves, 
this occuring ina spot where a brush heap had been burned the preced- 
ing year, and here 30 or 40 chambers were found. ‘The insects have 
also appeared at Balona, Mays Mill and Long point. At the last place 
they are reported as destroying two large vineyards. Caterpillars of the 
black swallowtail [Papilio polyxenes| are eating down young 
celery. June 23. 
EXHIBITION OF INSECTS. AT AGRICULTURAL 
GATHERINGS 
The opportunities agriculturists have of visiting museums to study 
insect pests are necessarily limited, and not every farmer finds time to 
look through the many bulletins and other publications so freely dis- 
tributed, or, if one has a few hours, the desirable article can not always be 
found. After all, the true way to learn is to see the creatures themselves, 
preferably living but much better dead than not at all, and to inspect 
their work. ‘The observations of most growers are usually confined to 
the field and are limited to the destructive stage, the round of life being 
but partly understood. It is believed that a properly arranged biologic 
collection, representing the various stages of the principal insect pests, 
their work and any peculiarities they possess, will do much to increase 
the interest in insects, and should promote their more general study in 
the field, thus leading to their better control. As museums are few and 
widely scattered, one way to bring about this very desirable end is found 
in carrying small exhibits to places where the classes to be benefited 
assemble, viz: agricultural fairs, farmers’ institutes, grange meetings and 
similar gatherings. 
The interest manifested in the initial exhibit prepared for the state 
fair, held at Syracuse, Sep. 4-9 and subsequently shown at the Oswego 
county fair, held at Oswego Falls, Sep. 12-15 demonstrates the value of 
this work. The collection, contained in 12 glass covered cases, each 
3x16xrg inches, consisted of over 100 species of the more injurious and 
more beneficial insects. The cases were arranged on a special table and 
were surrounded most of the time by a group deeply interested in learn- 
ing about the common pests they had been obliged to fight so long. 
At the state fair nearly 2000 descriptive catalogues were distributed to 
those showing marked interest in the collection, and this number repre- 
sents only a small proportion of those who looked at the collection, for 
