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have uot unfrequently wondered what species it would be that would 

 come to the front, and what heretofoie uncommon species would show 

 itself in numbers sufficiently great to cause trouble among' the agricul- 

 tural and horticulturalinterests of the country; and it is the unexpected 

 that always occurs. Foremost in this year's surprises came the dis- 

 covery of the larviie of Fidia viticida Walsh in the extensive vineyards 

 ah3ng the shores of Lake Erie. But, as this subject will foriu the basis 

 of a separate paper, I will not discuss it here. 



Early in January there came a complaint from the vicinity of Cin- 

 cinnati regarding a serious injury to the Lucretia dewberry, which had 

 been extensively grown in that section of the State, the industry being 

 now in a precarious condition, however, owing to what had been sup- 

 posed to be the effect of winter killing of the previous year's growth, but 

 now believed to be due to the attacks of some insect unknown to the 

 growers. My lirst visit made to the locality revealed the destroyer in the 

 shape of the well-known depredator, the red-necked Agrilus {A. ruficol- 

 lis Fab.). The attack was generally made near or just above the surface 

 of the ground, and while the plants remained alive during the summer 

 and fall, very few survived the winter and produced fruit the following 

 year. In the latitude of Cincinnati adults api^ear quite early in the 

 season, and I found them quite numerous on May 18, fully a month 

 earlier than they are to be found in the northern part of the State. A 

 very few of the beetles were to be found abroad in this locality on June 

 27, thus showing that the adult period lasts about six weeks. In the 

 matter of preventives, I think we have settled the problem, at least so 

 far as the dewberry is concerned. From a number of accidental cases 

 and some experiments made by Kentucky growers, it seems every way 

 probable that young growth in which the eggs have bee'n deposited 

 can be cutout about the -."ith of June, and the second growth, now neces- 

 sarily free from attacks, will furnisli sufficient wood to produce a full 

 crop of fruit the following year. 



Late in April it became evident that we were to have trouble from 

 the clover-leaf weevil ( Fhytonomna punctatus Fab.). This insect has for 

 the last three or four years been gradually making its way across the 

 State, both along the lake and the Ohio River. This year it passed over 

 the western line, in the northern section, far over into Indiana, if not 

 indeed to Illinois. Cocoons were received from Monroe County, Ohio, 

 April 25, and for a short time every mail brought complaints of the 

 depredations of the larvte. One report of injury came from West Vir- 

 ginia. The clover fields about Wooster were being literally eaten to the 

 ground, when suddenly, as it seemed, the fungoid disease {Entonioph- 

 thora splicer osperma Fres.) appeared, and the result was simply astound- 

 ing. A farmer came to me on a Saturday to say that his field was 

 literally swarming with the larvte and the clover being fast destroyed, 

 but on the following Wednesday, he came again to tell me that the 

 rain or something had killed them off so that it was then difficult 



