14 
eastern part cf the country, this latter species, too, might perhaps be 
involved. 
With a view to finding out something of the abundance of the grain 
moth in New Jersey, from which State was obtained most but not 
all of the straw entering into the mattresses mentioned by Doctors 
Goldberger and Schamberg, the writer applied to Dr. John B. Smith, 
state entomologist, for information. In reply Doctor Smith was 
kind enough to send the writer an advance copy of the report of his 
department of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station for 
the year 1908, and from this publication it was learned that during 
the summer of that year, owing to favorable weather conditions, this 
moth developed rapidly in the field and there was great damage to 
wheat among those farmers who delayed thrashing until September 
or later. Furthermore, a very large percentage of the wheat crop 
gathered that year became useless for milling purposes, and so general 
was the infestation that grain from some localities was entirely 
barred at mills except when ground for the owner. Some further 
investigations carried on in eastern Pennsylvania revealed a very 
similar condition of affairs. It was the straw of 1908, coming mostly 
from New Jersey, but a small part of it from Indiana, that entered 
into the mattresses, from the use of which came the epidemic in and 
about Philadelphia. 
In order to settle these points, Mr. V. L. Wildermuth, of the Bureau 
of Entomology, was instructed to examine the straw in the mattress 
placed at the writer’s disposal by Doctor Goldberger. After a day 
and a half of careful search, only five straws affected by the joint- 
worm were found. This seemed to entirely eliminate this species 
from consideration in connection with this particular epidemic. 
There were, however, many wheat heads remaining attached to the 
straw, and these heads contained a great many kernels, the contents 
of which had been eaten out by the larve of the grain moth. More- 
over, these eaten kernels contained great numbers of the dead bodies 
of Pediculoides. That the Angoumois grain moth was the cause of 
this damage to the wheat was still further proved by the emergence 
of an adult moth from these eaten kernels on November 15. The 
larvee of this moth infested the kernels of wheat before the latter were 
thrashed. Many of these infested kernels remaining in the straw 
were included in the material going into the manufacture of these 
mattresses. The greater portion of the living larve of the moth 
would develop to adults during May or early June, thus cutting off 
the food supply of these mites. The mites would therefore very 
naturally swarm among the straw and, making their way through 
the cloth covering of these mattresses, attack anything that gave 
promise of furnishing food and preserving them from starvation. It 
seems that starvation is the final outcome, however, for, as already 
[Cir. 118] 
