REPORT OF THE SOCIETY 6^ 



collecting and preserving insects, a camera suitable for indoor as well as outdoor 

 work, a cabinet for filing notes, and some sort of spraying apparatus is very ne- 

 cessary. A motor car, preferably the ubiquitous Ford, is practically indispen- 

 sable, particularly where extension work is being carried on. An insectary and 

 breeding cages, the only equipment I wish to refer to in detail, are also most 

 essential. 



At Vineland we have one large and two small insectaries. The large insec- 

 tary shown in figure 1 is 21^!-!/' long, lO'-I^" wide and about 8' S" high, and is 

 built on concrete piers. The four walls are covered with rustless wire screening. 

 The interior of the building (figure 2) is fitted on each side with a bench 3 feet 

 wide and 30 inches above the floor and with a shelf 18 inches wide and 30 inches 

 above the bench, both running the full length of the inside; with a tight cup- 

 board built on the back wall in which binocular microscopes, notes books, etc. 

 are kept; and with a water pipe, tap and hose for watering the plants. The 

 only furniture in the building are two home-made stools with small tables built 

 on them on which the material being examined may be placed. Roll curtains 

 made of water-proof, army duck, are fitted on the west and south sides to pro- 

 tect the material in the insectarj- during stormy weather. These can be readily 

 let down and pulled up. 



The two small insectaries shown in Figure 3 are of the covered bench type, 

 with hinged sides which of course are down all the time except during a storm. 

 We have used the covered bench almost exclusively for our work on aphids, and 

 have found it ver}- satisfactory. It has the one disadvantage, however, of 

 not affording the observer protection from the rain on wet days. 



Many kinds of cages are being used for rearing and studying insects, but 

 the short time I have at my disposal will only permit me to refer to a few which 

 w^e have found to be particularly satisfactorj-. The flower pot cage has, wher- 

 ever it is practicable, no equal. In oiu- investigations on aphids, pear psylla, 

 potato and grape leaf hoppers and the Em'opean red mite, we used this cage 

 almost exclusively. As shown in the illustrations (figures 4 and 5), it consists 

 of a flower pot in which the food plant or plants are grown and of a glass or 

 celluloid cover. For small plants an ordinary lantern globe with a cheesecloth 

 top makes a satisfactorj' cover. Where the plants are larger, a celluloid cjdinder, 

 say 12 inches high and 6 to 7 inches in diameter may be substituted for the globe 

 This cylinder is made from a sheet of clear celluloid. The edges are glued 

 together with acetone, and the top and bottom are reinforced with aluminum 

 tape fastened to the celluloid by means of eyelets; two narrow vents 7 inches by 

 13^ inches are cut out opposite each other and are then protected with wire 

 cloth sewn on with thread. The top is covered with cheesecloth and the cylin- 

 der is held down in position by means of a wire right-angled hoop with the ends 

 forced into the soil. The celluloid cylinder also answers the purpose of a tree 

 cage (figure 6) for studying the habits of an insect such as the codling moth, and 

 I have no doubt it could be used for several other purposes. 



