144 



Into this receptacle is tlien poured a tablespoonfnl of kerosene, and the 

 mosquitoes at rest upon the ceiling are easily trapped by simply plac- 

 ing this kerosene cup under them and close up to the ceiling. In their 

 endeavor to escape they fall at once into the kerosene and are killed. 

 On the morning of September 25 the writer captured in this way seventy- 

 five mosquitoes on the ceiling of the room which he had occupied dur- 

 ing the night. Most of the seventy-five were filled with blood, which, 

 we think, is a sufficient argument in favor of perlbrmiug the operation 

 before going to bed rather than after arising ! This was at Montclair, 

 N.J. 



NEWSPAPER ENTOMOLOGY AGAIN. 



Even the apparently truthful and perfectly circumstantial stories 

 which appear as press dispatches in the columns of some of our best 

 newspapers will bear investigation. A prominent jS^ew York daily, for 

 instance, in the early part of September, published a dispatch from 

 IS'ewark, N. J., stating that five horses had died from the attacks of 

 Texas Flies (meaning, doubtless, the Horn Fly, Hccmatohia serrata). As 

 this insect does not infest horses, and as the death of an animal from 

 its direct attack has not hitherto been substantiated, we wrote to tlie 

 gentleman whose name and address was given, and received the follow- 

 ing statement from Dr. James D. Hopkins, veterinary surgeon, of 

 Newark, which indicates that our preconceived ideas in regard to the 

 truthfulness of the dispatch were correct : 



Mr. lost five horses, two from heat and three from colic or enteritis. 



I attended three of them; the other two died before aid could be summoned, but the 



history of the case indicated plainly the cause of death. Mr. talked 



a, good deal about the sudden and peculiar deaths of his horses, and the newspapers 

 made a mess (as usual) of it, although I gave them full infonnation on the subject. 



WIDESPREAD TROUBLE FROM THE HORN FLY. 



It is remarkable with what rapidity the Horn Fly {Hwmatobia serrata) 

 has spread over the country. All through the Northern States and up 

 into Canada it is becoming a grievous pest. We spent some time dur- 

 ing August On the sbores of Lake Ontario, and it was j^iteous to seethe 

 suffering of the cattle along the highways. In many instances farmers 

 were obliged to cover their animals to give them partial protection. Oui' 

 old friend, Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, Ala., informs us that he has been 

 much pestered by what he calls a new fly, which has appeared this year 

 in vast numbers in Mobile, and from his description we have no doubt 

 that the fly is the one in question. Reports have come to us from quite 

 a number of places in the north. Mr. Fletcher and Dr. Bethune, as 

 appears in the minutes of the Association of Economic Entomologists, 

 report it at various places in Canada, and in addition to the localities 

 mentioned on page 49 of the previous number, and we have received 

 specimens from Fort Plain and Upper Jay, N. Y., Fairfield, Iowa, Har- 

 ris County, Tex., and Brandon, Vt. The extremely rapid spread of this 



