434 



of food both for themselves and for their horses and camels, which will 

 eat the locusts and are said to thrive upon them. Xo natural enemies 

 have been found except birds. The report concludes with a historical 

 account of locust swarms in India as far back as 1812. The full-page 

 plate illustrates the life-history of the species. 



Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales.— We have received No. 3 of 



vol. I and Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of vol. ii of this valuable publication. In 

 No. 3 of vol. I we notice an account of the Elephant Beetle {Orthor- 

 rhinus cylindrirostris), a Curculionid which bores into Grape, Orange 

 and other plants in New South Wales. A colored plate is given illus- 

 trating the different stages of the insect and its method of work. An 

 account is also given of the Leaf-eating Lady-bird (Epilachna vigintiocto- 

 jmnctata), which is one of the worst enemies of the Potato, Pumpkin, 

 Tomato, and other solanaceous and cucurbitaceous plants in Australia, 

 causing great damage to the foliage by feeding in the larval and adult 

 states on the upper and under sides of the leaf. The life-history is 

 given, and larva, pupa, and adult are figured. There is also a compiled 

 article on the Grain Weevil, and a note upon the Plague Locust, with 

 illustrations of both insects. No. 1 of vol. ii contains nothing of 

 entomological interest, but No. 2 of the same volume is notable from 

 our standpoint. Mr. A. Sidney Olliff contributes a paper upon Lady- 

 birds, which is illustrated by handsome engraved plates, showing six of 

 the most notable Australian species. The same author furnishes a 

 series of entomological notes, from one of which we notice that the Fig 

 is damaged byaThrips and the Potato by an unidentified flea-beetle of 

 the genus Graptodera, while the Orange Eust Mite of America {Phy- 

 toptus oleivorus Ashm.) has made its appearance in two localities. Some 

 account is also given of the Plague Locust. Mr. Olliff' and Mr. N. A. 

 Cobb jointly publish a paper on a species of Cecidomyia feeding on 

 W^heat and Flax. The authors know the species only from the larva, of 

 which they give a full description and illustrations. This number also 

 contains the report of the committee appointed for the purpose of mak- 

 ing awards in the competition of " spraying machines, spraying nozzles, 

 and sprays " for the destruction of insect and fungus pests attacking 

 fruit trees and vines, held under the auspices of the Department of 

 Agriculture for New South Wales. 



It seems that there were many entries in the competition and the cer- 

 tificates were awarded as follows : For spraying pumps drawn by horse, 

 to the Messrs. Murray Bros., for the Farrington Pump and Cyclone 

 Nozzle ; for spraying pump drawn by manual labor, to Mr. T. A. Lyon, 

 for the Federal Air Pump spraying machine ; for spraying pumps car- 

 ried by the operator, to Messrs. Murray Bros., for the Douglas Aquarius 

 spraying machine ; for spraying nozzles the award was given to the 

 Messrs. Murray Bros., of Paramatta, for the " Triplex Cyclone " which 



