558 NEW JERSEY STATE AGRICULTURAL. 



are this early winter of 1904. more completely infested than e\er 

 before in the history of the species. And not only orchards have 

 suffered; trees and shrubs in gardens have become infested as 

 never previously and yet a real effort to deal with the insect in 

 such places was made in many localities! 



Unfortunately the results of the efforts were not all that was 

 hoped ; for as the effects of the winter — for lack of a better reason 

 — some of the insecticides used failed utterly to kill or even to 

 check. The lime and sulphur combinations which had been made 

 our main reliance were ab-^olutely ineffectixe in some cases and 

 relatively so in others. 



Parasitic and ])redat(n-v insects were distressingly rare in most 

 localities and as to insect diseases, nothing was seen of them. In 

 a few places the twice-stabbed lady-bird. CJiilocorus hirulncrus, 

 appeared early in the season and matured one brood of lar\'?e. 

 Later on. in mid-summer. Poifilia iiiisclla was more or less plenti- 

 ful in some orchards, but even that was not nearly so numerous as 

 usual. 



Connected with this matter is the attempt to introduce and 

 acclimate the Asiatic lady-bird, Clulocorus siuiilis. During the 

 season of 1903 a number of colonies were distributed in New 

 Jersey and these seem to have been wiped out of existence : at all 

 events nothing was seen of them. To restock, if possible. I made 

 a trip to Georgia during the latter part of July because during the 

 year preceding these beetles had increased largely in that State. 

 But Georgia was little better off than New Jersey in this respect, 

 the insects appearing as a scant remnant where they had occurred 

 in abundance. Nevertheless I secured a portion of that remnant 

 and introduced them into an infested orchard not far from New 

 Brunswick, where no sprayings are intended and where the 

 insects will be allowed to develope undisturbed. It is to be feared, 

 however, that after the exhibition of comparative hardiness as 

 between scale and beetle, it will be unsafe to depend much upon 

 this natural check 



While the introduction of the Chinese Mantis Tcuodcra sin- 

 ensis is not of equal practical interest at present, it is interesting to 

 note that it also seems to have registered an objection to our 

 climatic conditions and to have reduced itself almost to the vanish- 

 ing point. AH my reports were negative until I saw Mr. Colling- 

 w^ood on Hope Farm. November 14th. He told me that they 

 found occasional specimens and that the children had reported 

 them from time to time. But the Hope Farm man treats all 



