64 



lively free from the pest; but even the poison-cured skins are not en- 

 tirely exempt. Tampico (Mexi- 

 can) skins are sometimes very 

 badly damaged by this insect, 

 whicli must now be very widely 

 distributed ; for whether the 

 skins come from Eiissia or Cape 

 Town, Turkey or Mexico, Arabia 

 or South America, the same 

 species of insects is found in 

 them all. 



It is said that fifteen or twenty 

 years ago this insect was much 

 more injurious than now ; but 

 this is probably due to the fact 

 that, the demand being muck 

 greater, the skins are used up 

 much faster, and the insects do 

 not have time to multiply to any 

 great extent. The only method 

 employed to destroy them is to 

 beat or shake each skin sepa- 

 rately and crush the insects which 

 fall to the floor ; but where there 

 are thousands of skins this is a 

 tedious process, and is probably 

 only a temporary check, as many 

 insects are undoubtedly- left in 

 the skins. Placing the bales in 

 a close compartment and killing 

 the insects by means of vapor 

 of bisulphide of carbon, or by 



Fig. 8.-Goat-skiu damaged by leather-beetle- buruiug SUlphur, haS bcCU prO- 



nat. size. (Original.) pOSCd J but the piaCtlCal Value 



of these methods has not been tested. 



THE JAPANESE PEACH FRUIT-WORM. 



In the August (18SS) number of Insect Life we published some cor- 

 respondence between the Rev. W. J. Holland, who was then serving as 

 naturalist to the U. S. Eclipse expedition, and the United States minis- 

 ter to Japan and the Commissioner of Agriculture, relative to the rav- 

 ages of a worm which damages the peach crop of Japan. Those who 

 read this correspondence will recollect that we suggested through Com- 

 missioner Col man that the matter be referred to Prof. C. Sasaki, of the 

 Agricultural and Dendrological College at Tokio, and that Professor 



