the Federal Branch I travelled over about 200 miles of the infested country; 

 it is open forest country, but round Beverley are the grounds and homes of 

 the wealthy people of New York and Boston. The infested area contains- 

 8,000 miles of roads, along which much of the work of burning and clearing 

 out the egg masses and grubs has been carried out. As many as 1,700 men 

 have been employed at one time, and at the time I was there the Commissioner 

 estimated there were about 1,000 at work. There are five special field agents and 

 commissioners, who meet at the Control Office every week ; and the entomo- 

 logist in charge, Mr. Kirkland, has a salary of 5,000 dollars a year. The 

 money to carry out this work is found by the State Legislature voting a cer- 

 tain sum, and then there is a regular assessment on every town in the infested 

 districts. If any town has to spend more than its regular assessment, they 

 can obtain a refund up to a certain limit from this State vote. The Federal 

 Experiment Station is under the charge of Mr. Rogers, with a special vote of 

 10,000 dollars to be used under Dr. Howard's advice in introducing and 

 experimenting with all kinds of parasites, some of which have been turned 

 out in thousands. At present it is too soon to notice any effect, but as this is 

 one of the biggest experiments of the kind that has ever been undertaken, the 

 eyes of all the economic entomologists of the world are on the Gypsy moth arid 

 its parasites under the skilled management of Dr. L. O. Howard, who does 

 not claim that they will be successful, but as he has the money and oppor- 

 tunity he is going to try, for up to date all mechanical means have failed. 

 After a flying visit to the Natural History Museum at New York, on my road 

 back to Washington, I returned on 12th October. On 15th October I Jefb 

 Washington for New Orleans, with Dr. Howard, to see the pests of the 

 Southern States and study the Cotton Boll Weevil in Texas. We arrived at 

 New Orleans about midnight on the next day ; and there we met Professor 

 Hunter, who is in charge of the Boll Weevil Experiment Station at Dallas, 

 Texas. 



The main crop all through these Southern States is cotton, in which every- 

 body is interested ; in consequence of a strike of the wharf labourers, there 

 were thousands of bales of cotton piled up on the wharves waiting for transport. 

 Cotton is grown at so close a margin of profit in the Southern States that, 

 every pest that attacks the crop threatens the whole output. Nothing is more 

 dreaded than the cotton boil weevil, which has caused so much destruction in 

 Texas, has crossed the Mississippi, and is now common at Baton Rouge, under 

 100 miles from New Orleans. This little weevil (Attthonomus grandis] lays 

 its eggs in the immature boll of the cotton bush, and the young larva feeding 

 within causes the boll to turn yellow and drop off. As soon as one reaches 

 an infested district where they are abundant, it vill at once be noticed that 

 all the lower part of the plant is bare of bolls, while all the good bolls are 

 on the upper portion ; in many districts half the crop is destroyed by this 

 beetle. Under the present conditions of cultivation it seems a very difficult 

 matter to deal with such a pest ; for those hibernating among the dr ad plants 

 and rubbish left on the ground after the crop is gathered, appear next season, 

 ready to carry on the work of infestation. Some of the preventatives that 

 have been carefully considered are first, the growth of a cotton that wilL 

 mature rapidly before the weevils get to work ; another, some cheap method 

 of utilising the dead stalks of the cotton plants, such as making them into, 

 paper ; and experiments are being carried out along these lines. 



A large number of diffVrent kinds of parasites and predaceous insects have 

 been found destroying the boll weevil at different stages of its growth, but 

 none have made any impression. Among one of the most remarkable means of 



