﻿OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 103 



^tions, and I can safely say, that it was not infesting the vines which came under ray 

 •examination. 



Verv truly yours, H. W. RA.VENEL. 



Aiken, S. C, November 30," 1874. 



In yours of the 5th inst., received yesterday, you inquire about the character of 

 the soils in which I examined grape vines. There were three localities : 



First. My own lot in Aiken, into which I moved a year ao:o, and found there 

 vines growing'. This is a lio-ht (extremely light) sandy soil, clay from eight to ten feet 

 beneath. We are just on the border of the "•Sandhill" region, a belt of four sand 

 hills, running' about 100 miles parallel with the sea coast, about ten to fifteen miles 

 wide, and extending from North Carolina, through South Carolina into Georgia. 



Seco7id. Eev. Mr. Cornish's vineyard has more clay, but could not be called a clay 

 ■soil, perhaps only a good admixture. 



Third. Berckmans' "Fruitland," fourniiles west of Augusta, is a red, or rather 



brownish soil, with just clay enough to make a freable loam, made darker of course by 



manurings, and containing^ a vast quantity of rounded pebbles, intermixed, from one to 



two or three inches in diameter. I think that these three soils represent the soils most 



•commonly in cultivation. * * ■^ 



Yours, cordially, H, W. RAVENEL. 



Aiken, S. C, December 11, 1874. 



Dear Sir : I am glad Mr. Eavenel gave you a detailed account of his observations. 

 Last September he spent some days with me, and we visited several localities, and care- 

 fully investigated many vines from 1 to 15 years old. Since then 1 have examined vines 

 in Atlanta, some 15 varieties, iEstivalesand Labruscas, but no signs of Phylloxera. Soil 

 there quite compact ; a clayey loam. On my place the soil is of mixed character. The 

 whole tract is underlaid with a red clay subsoil, except in my low lands, which are 

 alluvial. A portion, 300 acres, is what is termed here " Mulatto land," a rich loam of 

 about 18 to 24 inches deep. Another portion is mixed with gravel and red clay sub- 

 soil, and a small portion is more sandy. All my land is what is called here red land, in 

 contradistinction to the sandj' region, which is called grey land. One mile from my 

 house is a creek. On my side the subsoil is red clay ; on the opposite it is white clay 

 and sand, and a little higher up on the ridge no clay whatever is found, even to a depth 

 of 200 feet, as was shown where a well was sunk of that depth. In making our obser- 

 vations last Summer in every variety of soil of this region, I have kept a memorandum 

 of each variety examined, and the class of soil wherein it was planted. From your 

 statements I anticipated fully to find the insect, but so far I am safe in saying that your 

 predictions as to our section being infected with the Phylloxera is, happily for us, not 

 'fulfilled so far. 



Tours truly, 



P. J. BERCKMANS. . 

 Augusta, Ga., Dec. 10, 1874. 



Regarding its introduction into California around Sonoma, Mr. G. 

 :L. Wratten wrote, under date of July 9, 1874, that he is quite sure they 

 have it, but that the grape-growers there are quite excited about the 

 matter, and wish to hush the fact, 



INJURY DONE DURING THE YEAR IN FRANCE. 



So much of the wealth and prosperity of France depends on her 

 grape crop, and the result of the grape harvest is looked forward to 

 with so much anxiety, that the Phylloxera continues to occupy the 

 lively attention of that nation. The investigators have been active 

 and numerous, and each week this little insect occupies no inconsid- 

 erable portion of the time of the French Academy. The government 

 has increased the amount of the reward for a simple, available remedy, 

 from sixty thousand to three hundred thousand francs ; while several 



