1196 



Canadian Forestry Journal, July, 1917 



overshadowed by glaring superstition. 

 Turning to the pages of Frank Cow- 

 an's "Curious History of Insects," 

 we find dotted all through history 

 records of "Showers of blood." 



Homer, Ovid and Livius speak of 

 them, and during the Middle Ages 

 no explanation was given as to how 

 red drops could fall from the sky so 

 numerous as to appear like raid. 

 We know that certain butterflies, 

 especially of the genera Vanessa and 



Grapta, after emerging from the pupa, 

 void their body of a reddish liquid, 

 which when the insects are numerous 

 enough, would give the appearance 

 of "red raid." In the annals of Eng- 

 land we find two such accounts of 

 showers of blood, and there are many 

 accounts from the European Co - 

 tinent. In the year 1296, in Frank- 

 fort, one of these showers led to a 

 massacre of the Jews, in which 10,000 

 people lost their lives. 



Beetles Damaging Yellow Pine 



To British Columbia readers of the 

 Journal who have noted the damage 

 to Western yellow pine the following 

 letter from the Entomological Branch 

 to a Vancouver lumber firm will prove 

 interesting. 



We have received from the Cana- 

 dian Forestry Association, a quotation 

 from your letter referring to the in- 

 jury to yellow pine in the Okanagan 

 and Similkameen valleys. This in- 

 jury has been caused by bark-beetles, 

 particularly by the western white pine 

 bark-beetle and the western pine bark 

 beetle. The injury in British Colum- 

 bia has been very carefully investi- 

 gated and our bulletin No. 7 sent you 

 under separate cover deals with the 

 matter in detail. The injury has been 

 very greatly extended since the bulle- 

 tin was written and has assumed very 

 serious proportions. During the lat- 

 ter part of the summer I hope to make 

 a further examination of the extent 

 of the injury and the rapidity of its 

 spread during the last two years. All 

 companies having limits in the yellow 

 pine country should take immediate 

 interest in the spread of this destruc- 

 tive pest and take every precaution 

 to protect their limits from serious 

 infestation. A limit that is being 

 logged can be protected without great 

 expense. 



We shall be glad to receive any re- 

 ports of forest insect injuries that 

 come under your notice. 



Signed by J. M. Swaine, 



In charge of Forest Insect In- 

 vestigation. 



GOLD CAMP IN PERIL 



Tashota, the newest Ontario gold 

 camp, had a nerve-racking experi- 

 ence during the late dry spell, says 

 the Toronto Mail and Empire. The 

 country is densely wooded, the small 

 settlement clustered about the rail- 

 way station being but a speck in 

 the ocean of forest surrounding it. 

 May was dry, and the early days of 

 June found the whole countryside 

 parched and fit to feed the flames 

 once a fire should be started. Finally, 

 what all men had feared came to 

 pass; the whole district was full of 

 smoke and fire, and the skies were 

 as brass. 



Nearer and ever nearer crept the 

 burning, until it seemed that Tashota 

 was doomed to the fate of Porcupine. 

 An urgent message was sent to the 

 officials of the N.T.R., and in re- 

 sponse a train was made up and sent 

 to the settlement. Into it all the 

 worldly belongings of the miners and 

 railway officials were packed, the 

 women were put on board, and steam 

 kept up, so that an immediate re- 

 treat might be made should one be- 

 come necessary. 



Then, just as the outskirts of the 

 clearing had been reached by the 

 flames, the flood came down; furni- 

 ture and belongings were hastily un- 

 loaded, and the settlement returned 

 to normal life and coukHonce more 

 breathe freely. 



