44 



a single bottle at a time. By this methoLl the experimeat will be brought to a suc- 

 cessful issue, and the expense of protecting a bin of corn is not materially increased, 

 but rather diminished. 



To place a bottle of bisulphide in the box described, take a wooden shovel with a 

 little box attached at the end of it to snugly hold the bottle. Let the handle be 

 about an arm's length shorter than the l)ox. Before introducing the fluid I would 

 close up the bottle with a few layers of muslin, and by the aid of the shovel place it 

 inside of the box, nearly to the inner end, leaving the shovel with the l)ottle inside ; 

 then close up the entrance at the door with old bags or something of the kind. 



I learn that some have apprehensions as to the jiersonal safety in using the bisul- 

 phide of carbon, and the effect it may have on the corn. As I have ascertained by 

 experiments, the line of ignition is close to the body of the fluid itself, therefore 

 there is no danger in taking alight into the bin. As to the effect on the corn, every- 

 thing is in its favor. My last year's corn treated with the carbon proved that hardly 

 a kernel failed to germinate, and the shucks were eaten by the stock, I thought, 

 with unusual relish. The cause of this is obvious. The corn grew rapidly and with 

 vigor, and was considered the best in the neighborhood. Whether the bisulphide 

 had anything to do with it, I will not say; but I am somewhat inclined to think it 

 had. We know that solutions of some of the metallic salts have a tendency to 

 stimulate favorably the growth of seed that is immersed in it. 



I onlj' know of one great danger in handling the bisulphide, in which I nearly 

 lost my own life. The experimenter may pour it into the opening of an ants' nest, 

 to destroy them, and safely ignite it at the hole with a match. After the explosion 

 it leaves for a while an invisible flamt^ at the opening. If he is tempted to recharge 

 the opening from a full bottle of the fluid in his hands it will explode and send him 

 without a moment's notice into the other world! 



It is supposed that nearly 50 per cent of the corn in Texas is annually destroyed 

 by weevils and rats. The destruction is so great that nearly all the corn used in 

 this part of the State comes from Kansas. — [G. P. Hachenberg, m. l>., Texas, June 

 25, 1892.] 



On the first Use of Paris G-reen for the Potato-beetle. 



Yours of recent date, asking for corroborative testimony about my having used 

 Paris green for poisoning Potato beetles in 1867, was duly received. In reply I can 

 only say that I can find nothing of published record to confirm my statement. Twenty- 

 five years make sad havoc with memories as well as with friends themselves. Those 

 who are still alive of my friends gave the subject so little thought that they have 

 no idea of the date. The newspaper which published the clergyman's article sus- 

 pendetl publication about eighteen years ago. Its then editor and the clergyman 

 who wrote the article have been dead many years. So you can see the difliculty in 

 my way. But I am positive in the date. The fact that I let slip a grand opportunity 

 to make money out of the discovery is not the least among many reasons why I have 

 the date firmly fixed in ]ny mind. — [Byron Markham, Michigan, June 3, 1892. 



Reply.— The Entomologist regrets the absence of corroborative testimony con- 

 cerning your use of Paris green against the Colorado Potato-beetle in 1867, and 

 though he has no reason for doubting your statement the record as he has published 

 it is justified and can not well be altered. — [June 7, 1892.] 



A Vineyard Pest, Anomala marf/inata, in North Carolina. 



I forward by this mail some specimens of a beetle for identification. It appeared 

 about the time the " Rose Bug" disappeared, about June 10. I had noticed it during 

 former seasons ; but only isolated specimens appeared. Now, however, the beetles are 

 swarming in great numbers and have done much damage, notably on a plant of one- 

 year-old grapevines, where the foliage presents the appearance of lace work. They 



