12 College of Forestry 
N. Y. He was persuaded to return immediately and to ship 
to the laboratory a liberal amount of material showing as 
great a variety of conditions as possible. 
On account of the fact that the infested larch was at a 
considerable distance from Syracuse (about one hundred 
and thirty-one miles) the ideal method of procedure in such 
studies — which should consist of field work and insectary 
work so co-ordinated as to check each other and to give the 
best results — were necessarily modified. The field work 
was reduced to a minimum and all field observations were 
made by the junior author at such odd times as opportunity 
offered. However, the work was so planned and conducted 
that the results obtained were in no way weakened. In fact, 
m a study of this sort the field work aside from the actual 
collecting of the infested wood, can be dispensed with much 
more readily than the insectary work; which, on the other 
hand, is indispensable because of the impossibility in the 
present state of our knowledge of identifying the immature 
stages of many boring insects. 
The method followed consisted in bringing to the labora- 
tory generous samples of various parts of infested trees. A 
eareful and full record of the character and history of each 
lot was kept and each lot was placed in a separate breeding 
cage. The cages were then placed out of doors so that the 
conditions would be normal and as near as possible what 
they would have been if left mm their original location. The 
breeding cage used consists of a strong, well-constructed 
frame of 2x 2 cypress. The top is covered with fine copper 
wire mesh, while the sides are sheets of glass lowered into 
grooves In the frame. To the bottom of the frame is attached 
a metal flange which may either be fitted into an especially 
constructed base or may be pressed down into the soft earth. 
In most of our work the latter method was used and this 
was true of all of the outdoor breeding work. In these cages 
the sticks were propped up with one end resting upon the 
loose soil or embedded in it, and, except in very dry weather, 
the wood absorbed enough moisture from the loose earth to 
keep it m fit condition for the insects living within. When 
