487 



si)rays iii winter, boforo the buds begin to swell, but makes no nieti- 

 tiou of the more practical course of sprajing the plum trees with kero- 

 sene emulsion after the eggs have hatched. 



MADE INSANE BY DESTROYING CATERPILLARS. 



We see no reason to doubt the accurac^^ of the statement made in 

 the following item which we clip from the New York Sun of June 7, 

 1891. We have frequently met with people who have exhibited such a 

 strong idiosyncrasy against insects that similar results might follow 

 were they forced to do the work which this boy was obliged to do. 



Beaveu Falls, Pennsylvania, June 6. 

 Walter Sanders, 13 year^ old and son of a fanner liviug- about 4 miles east of here, 

 has become insane. On Tuesday bo was sent into the orchard to destroy the cater- 

 pillars aud their nests infesting the trees. He used paper, kerosene oil, and matches. 

 The boy kept at the work for several hours, and the caterpillars would frequently 

 fall upon him. In the course of the afternoon be was taken with violent nausea, and 

 at night his parents were aroused by his moans. They found him tossing wildly, 

 crying that the worms were eating him, and he begged them to take tliem off. A 

 physician was hastily summoned, who, by a hypodermic injection succeeded in 

 quieting the lad, but other similar attacks followed, and the doctor says he will have 

 to be sent to an insane asylum. 



NEW ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



We notice from the California Fruitgrower, May 2, 1891, that a new 

 society, entitled " The California Entomological Society," has been 

 founded and that it expects to hold quarterly meetings at San Francisco. 

 The first quarterly meeting was held April 24, at No. 220 Sutter street. 

 E. M. Ehrhorn is the president and at the first meeting read a paper 

 upon the San Jose scale, stating that Aphclinus fuscipcnnis Howard is 

 the most abundant parasite of this destructive bark louse. He has 

 also, however, reared Coccophagns citrinus Craw (a species whi(;h has as 

 yet, we believe, never been described) and AplielinuH mytilaspidis Le 

 Baron from the same scale. He also susi)ects that the first named par- 

 asite is to be reared from the Greedy scale {Aspidiotus rapax). This is 

 quite likely, as A.fascipennis is quite a general feeder and has been 

 bred at the Department from Aspidiotus perniciosiis, Chionaspis euonymi^ 

 Mytilaspis gUwerii, and Mytilaspis pomorum. 



MORE CONCERNING THE BITE OF THE KATIPO. 



We are indebted to Mr. R. Allan Wight, of T.Troa, Auckland, New 

 Zealand, for the following matter concerning an apparent case of death 

 from the bite of the katipo. Seeing the item in the AucJcland Weekly 

 News, Mr. Wight wrote to Dr. Ewart, the medical attendant, and his 

 reply is reprinted below the reprint of the newspaper item. 



