b SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OP 



and the proper measures had been taken to prevent the introduction 

 of these pests, we should at present be free from the curse of the 

 great majority of them. We have, indeed, plenty of Native American 

 insects, which have become great pests to the cultivator of the soil, on 

 account of the artificial state of things which he induces. In a state 

 of Nature, a given species of plant, in its struggle for existence, is 

 scattered promiscuously over a certain extent of country, and the 

 particular insect or insects which feed upon that plant, have to search 

 for it over a comparatively extensive surface, and their multiplica- 

 tion is consequently restricted. But the pursuit of horticulture, for 

 instance — which may be succinctly defined as the assembling in tracts 

 of greater or less extent, of one species of plant at the expense and 

 exclusion of others — causes the particular insects which feed upon 

 that plant, to multiply unduly, and we have to use that same intelli- 

 gence in subduing these insects, which we employ in producing the 

 artificial results which caused their increase. In the normal state of 

 things insects never increase unduly ; but, on the contrary, always 

 act as Nature's most faithful servants, and accomplish a most impor- 

 tant work in her economy. Yet, for reasons explained above, they 

 naturally become our enemies, and we should suffer from the depre- 

 dations of our indigenous species, even though no foreign ones had 

 been imported. But we have altogether more than our share of these 

 insect depredators, and so truly is this the case, that insects 

 which attract universal attention, and are considered as very serious 

 evils in Europe, would not be deemed worthy of notice in this coun- 

 try. There, if they lose one-fifth of a given crop, the whole commu- 

 nity becomes alarmed; but here the cultivator sometimes considers 

 himself fortunate if he secures the half of his crop from insect rava- 

 ges, and each State loses annually from fifty to sixty million dol- 

 lars from this cause alone, though but four States have as yet made 

 any attempt to prevent this serious loss. In order to bring this fact 

 home to you, and to show why we suffer more than do our foreign 

 brethren, I will read a paper, which I have prepared for the Ameri- 

 can Entomologist, on 



IMPORTED INSECTS AND NATIVE AMERICAN INSECTS. 



If we examine into the history, as detailed in a recent number of our 

 Magazine, (pp. 15-22) of the imported Currant Worm and the Native 

 Currant Worm, we shall find a very curious state of things. These 

 two insects both produce Sawfiies, which are so closely allied to each 

 other, that although they are referred to distinct genera by Entomol- 

 ogists, it may be doubted whether the genus (Pristiphora) under 

 which the native species is classified be not a mere subgenus of that 

 under which the imported species is classified. Reasonings priori, 

 therefore, we should expect to find a very great similarity in the de- 

 structive powers of these two worms, especially as each of them in- 

 fests the leaves both of the Red Currant and of the Gooseberry. But 



