215 



l)laiiation in any tcxT-lxtok, iicwsjcijicr, or ])nl)lic tl<)ciiiiit'iit.[ — .losliiia Wood. Mis- 

 souri, January 17, 18tU. 



Rkply. * * * The peculiar object whicli you so well dcseribe was a mass of 

 the little larvae of the genus Sciara, the adults of which are small midges or gnats 

 with feathery antenna'. These insects have long been known to have this gr«'gari- 

 ous habit and are often found in dense batches under the bark of trees. When about 

 to transform to the jiupa state they congregate in great numbers, forming processions 

 like that which you describe. They have l)een known in Europe to form masses four 

 or five inches wide and ten or twelve feet long. The name ''Army Worm" isajtplied to 

 them in Europe, but although it is an appropriate title, it is applied to an entirely 

 ditterent insect in this country. Here they are ordinarily called " Snake- worms " 

 and the masses which they form are conversely called '■ Worm-suakes." * * * — 

 [January 22, 1891.] 



Abundance of the Clover Mite in Michigan. 



* * * The Clover Mite is fairly swarming in the lower stories of our college 

 building. In the chemical laboratory, which is in the basement, they seem to feed 

 on a mold that gathers on the window sashes. They also l)reed in great numbers, and 

 we find them in all stages of development. — [Charles A. Davis, Michigan. 



Urine recommended for Bel-w^orms. 



We have received from one of our correspondents a communicatioH in which he 

 claims to have used human urine with marked beneficial efiects upon peach trees 

 affected Avith Anguillula. He claims that a few applications of the urine to trees 

 Viadly diseased effected a permanent cure. What do you think of it? Admitting 

 the truth of the statement, what are the elements of urine that had the beneficial 

 effect? If that element could l)e determined by analysis and experiment, would it 

 not be possible to incorporate it in a fertilizer, which would act in the dual capacity 

 of manure and insecticide? * * * — [8. Weller Johnston, Florida, June 11, 1891. 



Reply. — « * * j should not accept the statement of your correspondent as to 

 the effect of urine upon peach trees affected with Anguillulidaj without the most care- 

 ful corroborative tests. So many of these recommendations come to me that it is 

 absolutely impossible to try them all, and it will be well for you to advise with some 

 one on the ground who has facilities to experiment. We should say that the active 

 destructive principle would be the uric acid, in case it turns out that the gentleman 

 is correct.— [June 18, 1891.] 



GENERAL NOTES. 



VEDALIA AND ICERYA IN NEW ZEALAND. 



We have elsewhere in these pages referred to the curious see-saw 

 game which Yedalia and Icerya have been playing' for some time in 

 parts of Xew Zealand, but the following presentation of the case is so 

 interesting that we reprint it from the columns of the Garden and Field 

 (Adelaide, South Australia) of last June. It is written by our corre- 

 spondent, Mr. R. Allan Wight, of Auckland. 



Siu : It may interest some of your readers to hear news of your native ladybird, 

 Vedalia cardinalis, which has done such good service of late years both in New Zea- 

 land and California, against Icerya purcliasi. It will be remembered that the bee- 

 tle, although native to Australia, has never been any other than an inconspicuous 



