84 



appeared in considecahlc iiuniluMs in central Canada and were the 

 cause of some injury. 



The clover-seed midge was one of the liiost destructive insects of the 

 year and was tlie cause of enormous loss in the clover-seed-growing 

 districts of western Ontario. 



The sugar-beet webworni {Loxosiege sticticalis L.) appeared in 

 countless swarms in Manitoba in June and Sej)tember, and was the 

 cause of ccjusiderable alarm among farmers, who feared from the large 

 number of different j)lants whicli the larv?e attacked that they might 

 develop into an enemy of the all-important wheat crop. Theii* depre- 

 dations, however, were almost entirely confined to weeds or plants of 

 no value. In the districts where this insect occurred there happened 

 to be very few fields of either mangels or sugar beets. The most 

 attractive plant was the common weed Cheno2')()(llurii aJbani, of which 

 some fields were entirely cleared. In gardens spinach and beets suf- 

 fered most. 



In Manitoba some loss was caused by grasshoppers. Tlie C'riddle 

 mixture was again experimented with, and very satisfactory results 

 were obtained. After three years' i)ractice Mr. Criddle now i-ecom- 

 mends that this mixture be made as follows: One part by measure- 

 ment of Paris green to 120 parts horse droppings, preferably fresh, or 

 about 1 pound of Paris green to half a coal-oil barrel of barn drop- 

 pings. One ijound of salt should be added when the droppings are 

 not fresh. I again had the pleasure last summer when in Manitoba 

 of seeing how effective this mixture is in destroying locusts. A field 

 which had been protected hy liaving the mixture scattered freely 

 around the (^dges stood out as a green patch in a brown plain among 

 fields where nothing had been done to kill the grasshoppers. The 

 species of locusts concerned in this outbreak were the same as occurred 

 in the locality last year, viz, Melanoplus atlanis, M. spretus, M. hivit- 

 tatiis, and M. packardii. They were abundantly accompanied by 

 their parasites, the red locust mite and the blister beetles, Epicauta 

 sericans and E. pennsylvanica. Through tlie kindness of Doctor 

 Howard I was able to try some experiments upon this swarm with the 

 locust fungus, of which he provided me with six test tubes of a fresh 

 culture. These were very carefully manipulated by Mr. Norman 

 Criddle throughout the season, but no appreciable results could be 

 detected, an outcome which I learn has been similar to those of all 

 other experimenters who liave tried tliis at first sight attractive but 

 really disappointing metliod of killing locusts. 



Tlie pear-tree ftea-louse {Psylla pi/z-icola Foerster) occurs to some 

 extent in maii}^ Canadian orchards and has in a few instances caused 

 considerable loss. During the past season specimens were received 

 from as far east as Nova Scotia.. A remedy which has been much 

 cited is one which has been used by Mr. Henry Lutz, of Youngstown, 

 N. Y. This consists of scraping the trunks of the trees in cold 



