ENTOMOLOGY. 421 



side of the leaf cause the upper side to swell until graduallj- the 

 g-all is formed, which closes below (Fig. 6, b). Here the mites live 

 and multipl3^ 



When we consider how well protected these mites are by the veg- 

 etable structure enclosing- them, we can realize at once that neither 

 arsenical poisons nor emulsions are of much use against thein after 

 the galls have been formed. Carefully plucking the infested leaves 

 and burning them is the onlj^ feasible remedj^ in spring and sum- 

 mer. By spra3dng pluiu trees that are invaded by them during the 

 fall,winter and spring or before the mites have left their winter quar- 

 ters, we may be able to reduce their numbers. At all events, eternal 

 vigilance is the price of a fair crop of unblemished plums. 



ENTOMOLOGY. 



J. S. HARRIS, LA CRESCEXT. 



In our part of the state the summer of 1893 was what insect collec- 

 tors would call a bad one, owing to a partial failure of the " bug" 

 crop. The primary winter was exceptionally severe; the spring and 

 early summer wet and cold, followed bj' a long protracted drouth 

 and, as a consequence, a great manj^ kinds of insect, injurious 

 or otherwise, have been unusually scarce; yet it has been marked 

 by the presence of a few species in exceptional numbers. 



The winter was one of the most disastrous on record for the honey 

 bee in our part of the state, and the greater portion of these, proba- 

 bly nine-tenths, perished in their winter quarters or before spring 

 had hardl}" opened. Most other insects of the bee family must also 

 have suffered severely', for, with the exception of the bumblebee, thej' 

 have not seemed nearly as plentiful as usual. The small insects of 

 the fly kind, that usuallj' appear in great numbers in early spring 

 and in pleasant da3'S swarm about our blooming fruit trees, were 

 noticeable for their absence, and perhaps to this and the fact that 

 our neighbors had no bees to lend, may be attributed in a large 

 measure the shortage of the fruit crop, through lack of proper pol- 

 enization — although some people think that don't help much. The 

 oldest inhabitant cannot remember the year before when the mos- 

 quitoes have been so scarce. 



The common house flies did not appear in greatlj' annoyingnum- 

 bers until the summer was well past. The tent caterpillar, that but 

 a few years since was so conspicuous in orchards and fruit gardens, 

 has almost entirely disappeared; we saw but one nest of them during 

 the entire summer. About the codling moth and apple gouger we 

 cannot tell for certain, for in neglected orchards there were few or no 

 apples, and the consequent famine would have been hard on them- 

 Some insects took advantage of our first visit to the World's Fair to 

 put in their work upon the oak trees about our place without giving 

 us anj^ opportunity to detect or identify him. As it was at the right 

 season, we suspect it ma}' have been the June bug. 



The foliage on man}^ trees was so badlj* injured as to stop the 



