REPOET OF THE SOCIETY 13 



used advantageously to destroy insects injurious to agriculture. To this 

 appeal Antonio Villa responded in 1844 with a pamphlet entitled "Carnivorous 

 Insects Used to Destroy Species Injurious to Agriculture", in which were set 

 forth at length the results of successful experiments carried on bj^ him at Desio, 

 in the province of Milan. In these experiments carabids and staphylinids 

 were used. Villa's results were criticized by Bassi, Bellani and Ratzeburg. 

 The latter said: — "Carnivorous insects can be applied to the needs of agri- 

 culture only by the beneficient hand of nature and every effort to assist it 

 must be in vain!" 



In 1850 Rondani, an Italian, began his important reseai-ches on insect 

 parasites and published a work entitled "An account of Parasitic Insects and 

 Their Victims". He was of the opinion that parasites are of greater value 

 than birds in the control of insects. 



Ferris, of France, published an important monograph in 1857 : "The History 

 of the Insects of the Maritime Pine". He noted the importance of parasitic 

 and predacious insects in the destruction of wood-eating and leaf-eating 

 forms. 



DeCaux, also of France, about 1872, did much valuable work on the utiliz- 

 ation of parasites in the fight against injurious insects. 



E. L. Taschenberg published in 1866 a valuable work on The Hymenop- 

 tera of Germany, in 1874 a work on The Natural History of Insects Injurious 

 to German Forests, and in 1880 a work on Practical Entomology. 



G. Henschel published in 1861 and 1876 a "Guide to the Determination 

 of Injurious Forest Insects, with information as to their life history and means 

 of control". 



J. H. Kaltenbach published in 1874 a "Handbook of Insects for the Use 

 of Agriculturists, Gardeners and Foresters". 



To Eichhoff we are indebted for an excellent work on European Bark 

 Beetles (1881). He not only described many forms but discusses the bionomics 

 of the group. He said that "the most favorable conditions for the increase 

 of these beetles are doubtless a warm early spring and a warm summer with 

 frequent rains and a long mild autumn". Other contributing factors are 

 strong winds, snow, frosts, forest fires, the devastation brought by caterpillars, 

 whereby the trees are more or less decorticated in places and otherwise wounded 

 (Packard)". 



For many years, the only work of importance on Forest Insects published 

 in America was that of Packard, published in 1886-1890. 



In 1905-1906 Dr. E. P. Felt published a valuable work in two volumes 

 on "The Insects Affecting Park and Wood land Trees". The work of Doctor 

 Hopkins in the United States and Dr. Swaine in Canada is of tremendous 

 value, but this cannot be treated at this time. 



