168 ANNUAL REPORT 



states, still there are enough to occupy much of the time of the 

 fruit growers to fight and to get rid of. I have not made any attempt 

 in this small collection to classify the specimens according to their 

 food plants, as all of them occur upon plants of currants, black- 

 berries or raspberries. Some of them prefer the one plant, others 

 the other plant, but all are distinguished by being very injurious. 

 By very injurious I do not mean to express that they are all always 

 injurious. In most cases, when not numerous, they occasion but 

 little damage, and this is easily overlooked. But this should not 

 be the case! All of these insects, if favored by conditions which 

 are beyond our control, can very soon become exceedingly numer- 

 ous, and consecpiently injurious in proportion. So it behooves us 

 to take time by the forelock, and to "remove them from office for 

 cause or otherwise." An ounce of prevention is always better than 

 a pound of cure. None of these insects should be allowed the 

 freedom of our gardens and fields. Yet very few of you have ever 

 seen the insects as displayed in the box, because in this their per- 

 fect or winged scate they are either nocturnal in their habits or so 

 small and nimble as to be readily overlooked. But you have no 

 doubt seen them all in their earlier stages as caterpillars or slugs, 

 or have seen their "trade-mark" upon leaves and stems. Every 

 grower of the plants under consideration should make it a rule to 

 visit them as aften as possible, and he should never fail to hunt 

 for caterpillars, to catch and dispatch them in any way he sees fit, 

 providing it is a way that permits of no resurrection. No arsenical 

 poisons should be used, if it is possible to get along without them. 

 It so happens that most of the insects upon such plants that can 

 be reached at all by poisons are double-brooded, and as the second 

 generation is most frecpaently the injurious one, poison may later 

 be used with advantage, as under the conditions then prevailing it 

 will only be used after all the fruits have been gathered. But 

 here lies one serious trouble: the plants without fruit have lost 

 most of the interest they possessed earlier in the season; they are 

 not inspected so often and so thoroughly as formerly, and thus 

 many insects thrive and increase without hindrance, which — al- 

 though not able to destroy the crop of that year — are only too apt 

 to do so during the following season. Constant vigilance is the 

 price of success, in fruit-growing as well as in any other business. 



During the season of 1S89 the following insects proved the most 

 injurious ones, and specimens of their work were often received 

 and found by me. The letters received with them plainly indi- 

 cated that all these insects occur almost everywhere in the state 

 where such plants are grown to any extent. 



The Raspberry Flat-headed Borer (Agrilus rujicollis). 



The Snowy Tree-cricket (CEcanthus niveus). 



The Imported Currant Stalk-borer {JEgeriatipuliformis). 



The American Currant Stalk-borer ( Psenocerus supernotatus ) 



The Buffalo Tree-hopper (Ceresa bubalus). 



In many cases the canes received showed the work of at least 

 three different insects, all more or less injurious. But by all odds 

 the most injurious one was the Raspberry Borer, or the Red-necked 



