THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



93 



with this, at the proper time, will usually 

 destroy these pests. Hand-gathering may 

 also be practiced, as well as frequent cul 

 tivating the ground among the bushes, in 

 order to unearth the worms that have 

 passed into it to undergo their trans- 

 formation. 



The common Currant stalk-borer (^i,'-^/7(/ 

 tipiiliformis) is well known to all growers 

 of this fruit ; at least the larva or grub is, 

 which may be found in the canes during 

 the fall and winter months, and during this 

 time all infested shoots should be cut and 

 burned with their contents. There are 

 also one or two other species of Currant- 



[Fig. 3.3], 



Imported Currant Worm : — a, «, tz, larvse in differeiil 

 positions; b^ side of a middle joint enlarged, showing arrange- 

 ment of tubercles (after Riley). 



borers, but as they are all found in the 

 stems during winter, one method of dc 

 stroying will answer for all. 



The diseases of Currants and Goose- 

 berries are mainly climatic, consequently 

 difficult to prevent or cure. Mildew on 

 the Gooseberry is the one most dreaded, 

 and the better way is to avoid it by culti- 

 vating only those varieties that are adapted 

 to your soil and climate, and the native 

 ones are preferable to the foreign on this 

 account. In cool, moist soils, or with a 

 liberal amount of mulch and thinning out 

 of the heads of the plants, the European 

 varieties may be occasionally made to suc- 

 ceed moderately well. 



( To he continued.) 



THE COTTON WORM IN THE UNITED 

 STATES.* 



The paper records some of the scientific 

 results of the inquiry respecting the Cotton 

 Worm and other insects injurious to the 

 cotton plant, begun by Prof. Riley while 

 entomologist to the Department of Agri- 

 culture, and now being continued by him 

 under the auspices of the U. S. Entomo- 

 logical Commission. Among the incorrect 

 statements that have hitherto been made, 

 and opinions that have obtained, regarding 

 the habits of the Cotton Worm, the author 

 mentions, ist, that as to the first appear- 

 ance of the young worms as late as the last 

 of June or later in the season in the cane- 

 brake country of Alabama ; 2nd, the so- 

 called sudden appearance of the worms in 

 great numbers over large districts ; 3d, 

 the idea that there are but three annual 

 generations ; 4th, the belief that the species 

 has no parasites. 



Three of these opinions were iterated in 

 an interesting paper read by Prof. A. R. 

 Grote, at the 1874 meeting of the Associa- 

 tion, and were emphasized by the announce- 

 ment that the paper was based on a resi- 

 dence and experience of five years in 

 cotton-growing States. Prof. Riley finds 

 that the opinions are erroneous in that, 

 firstly, the first worms hatch in April in 

 Southern Georgia and Alabama ; that, scc- 

 07idl\\ the first generation appears in spots 

 and generally in such small numbers as to 

 be easily overlooked, and that in subse- 

 quent generations the worms disperse and 

 increase more or less rapidly, according as 

 the surrounding conditions are favorable 

 or otherwise ; that, thirdly, there are from 

 six to eight annual generations in the 

 Southern portion of the cotton belt ; and 

 that, fourthly, the species is attacked by at 

 least ten distinct parasites, some of which 

 are quite efficient in keeping it in check. 

 In addition to two not yet reared to the 

 perfect state, the following are enumerated : 

 From the egg of Aletia — Trichogramtna 

 pretiosa, n. sp. ; from both larva and 



♦Abstract of a paper read at tlie Saratoga meeting of the 

 American Association for ttic .Advancement of Science, by 

 C. V. Riley. 



