﻿PEOCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOUETH 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  85 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  been 
  intimately 
  connected 
  with 
  investigations 
  regarding 
  

   cotton 
  pests 
  for 
  ttie 
  last 
  sixteen 
  years 
  and 
  I 
  quite 
  agree 
  with 
  Dr, 
  L. 
  H. 
  

   Gough 
  when 
  he 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  " 
  Oxycarenus 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  bad 
  pest 
  with 
  us, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  going 
  to 
  be 
  special 
  

   investigation 
  regarding 
  it. 
  If 
  it 
  attacks 
  garden 
  hollyhock 
  of 
  the 
  Euro- 
  

   pean 
  variety, 
  the 
  leaves 
  curl 
  up 
  and 
  budshedding 
  occurs. 
  Forty 
  per 
  

   cent, 
  of 
  the 
  flowers 
  fail 
  to 
  mature 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  sucking 
  of 
  Oxycarenus, 
  

   I 
  believe 
  that 
  about 
  80 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  cotton 
  are 
  rendered 
  useless 
  

   by 
  the 
  insect 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  " 
  (Proc. 
  Third 
  Entl. 
  Meeting, 
  Vol. 
  II, 
  p. 
  561). 
  

  

  And 
  from 
  what 
  has 
  been 
  observed 
  by 
  me 
  during 
  the 
  past, 
  it 
  appears 
  

   that 
  the 
  little 
  obscure 
  bug 
  is 
  equally 
  bad 
  on 
  cotton 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  as 
  

   well. 
  Its 
  small 
  size 
  and 
  obscure 
  colour 
  renders 
  it 
  an 
  inconspicuous 
  

   object 
  on 
  the 
  leaves, 
  the 
  bolls 
  and 
  the 
  flowers. 
  The 
  ordinary 
  cultivator 
  

   does 
  not 
  mark 
  its 
  presence, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  for 
  this 
  reason 
  that 
  very 
  few 
  com- 
  

   plaints 
  are 
  received 
  regarding 
  the 
  damage 
  brought 
  about 
  by 
  it. 
  In 
  

   the 
  case 
  of 
  leaf-eating 
  Lepidoptera 
  and 
  Coleoptera 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  damage 
  

   to 
  leaves 
  is 
  a 
  sufficient 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  the 
  pest, 
  though 
  the 
  

   aggregate 
  loss 
  caused 
  by 
  these 
  may 
  be 
  nothing 
  in 
  proportion 
  to 
  the 
  

   damage 
  done 
  by 
  the 
  sucking 
  insects, 
  which 
  not 
  only 
  directly 
  injure 
  the 
  

   seed 
  and 
  thus 
  lower 
  its 
  future 
  vitality 
  but 
  indirectly 
  introduce 
  a 
  host 
  of 
  

   fungoid 
  and 
  bacterial 
  diseases 
  which 
  conjointly 
  reduce 
  its 
  vitality 
  to 
  a 
  

   minimum 
  and 
  this 
  aspect 
  of 
  the 
  injury 
  is 
  of 
  great 
  importance 
  when 
  we 
  

   consider 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  seed 
  supply 
  of 
  the 
  country. 
  At 
  present 
  the 
  

   area 
  under 
  cotton 
  is 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  