Vol. Ill, No. 6.] IISTSECT LIFE, ["ssued, Tlaich, 1891. 



SPECIAL NOTES. 



We had hoped, as aunoauced iu aSo. 5, that the present number 

 would be issued almost simultaneously with that number, in order that 

 the reports of the two Champaign meetings might appear about the same 

 time. The delay in publishing the current number results from circum- 

 stances which could not then have been anticipated. 



Entomology atthelowa Station.*— In Bulletin No. 11 Mr. Gillette hasfour 

 entomological articles. He summarizes what is known concerning the 

 Potato Stalk- weevil (Tnc/io&am trinotata), and states that this insect has 

 been one of the worst insect pests of the past season. He believes that 

 half a million dollars will fall far short of making good the loss it has 

 occasioned the State of Iowa in the past j^ear, from its injuries to the 

 potato crop. He also publishes some remarks upon the Apple Curculio 

 {Anthonomus 4:gibbus), recording some original and careful observations 

 upon the methods of egg laying. He also records a new Currant stem- 

 borer. This is Eyperplatys aspersus, a longicorn beetle, which has long 

 been known as an enemy to Cottonwood. The principal article of the 

 Bulletin, however, is a consideration of kerosene emulsion as a sheep 

 dip and as a destroyer of parasites upon domestic animals. Mr. Gil- 

 lette has already made some experiments in this direction, and we 

 have noticed his previous reports. He has recently experimented upon 

 sheep on a large scale, drawing the conclusion that a good kerosene 

 emulsion, of sufficient strength to kill parasitic insects, can be used 

 safely upon sheep without removing or injuring the fleece, but that an 

 emulsion of poor quality should not be used, as it would probably cause 

 the sheep to lose much of their wool. He has also applied the emulsion 

 to horses, cattle, and hogs, with the result that, iu every case, the coat 

 has been either unchanged in appearance or made more sleek and 

 glossy, while the skin is left clean and soft. The experiments are of 

 value principally in that the kerosene emulsion, as ordinarily prepared, 

 costs not over 90 cents per 100 gallons, and is, on an average, about 

 one-fourth cheaper than any of the patented sheep-dips. 



• Bulletin No. 11, November, 1890. Dea Moines, Iowa, 1890. 



251 



