122 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 'o2 



DEPARTMENT OF EGONOMIE ENTOMOLOGY 



Edited by Prof, JOHN B. SMITH, Sc. D., New Brunswick, N. J. 



Papers for this department are solicited. They should be sent to the editor, 

 Prof. John B. Smith, Sc.D., New Brunswick, N. J. 



In a previous communication in this Department I called attention to 

 the work done at the Station fiir Pflanzenschutz at Hamburg. There is 

 now at hand a series of papers by Dr. Brick the Director, by Dr. Reh the 

 Entomologist in charge, co-operating also with Mr. G. B. King and by 

 Dr. Karl Kraepelin. 



Dr. Brick gives a very interesting account of the Station, its methods 

 of inspection, and the new quarters occupied by it. As compared with 

 figures previously given, Canada now leads in the number of scaly apples 

 sent from the Atlantic coast ; but nothing like as bad as from the Pacific 

 coast. The percentages given are, for Canadian apples, 4.19 per cent, 

 infested ; for the eastern United States, 0.29 per cent, infested ; for Cali- 

 fornia, 64 10 per cent, infested ; for Oregon, 79.73 per cent, infested. In 

 the total, 31,533 shipments, i 24 per cent, proved to be infested by the San 

 Jose or pernicious scale' 



Japan now comes well to the front as an exporter of scaly plants, and 

 the regulations previously applying only against American nursery stock 

 are now extended to that coming from Japan. 



Dr. Kraepelin enumerates 490 species of animals ranging from verte- 

 brates to worms that were found as introductions at the Port of Hamburg, 

 coming from all parts of the world. Thirteen of these are vertebrates, 

 twenty-two are worms and 294 are hexapods or true insects. The Cole- 

 optera are far in the lead ; the Hemiptera come next and the Hymenop- 

 tera make a good third. The Orthoptera make a fair showing and the 

 other orders follow a long way behind. 



After reading over the list of species the only surprising feature is that 

 .so few of the introduced species manage to e.stablish themselves. And 

 when we read of the places in which these were found and consider how 

 many must have escaped notice, we wonder indeed that "introduced 

 species" are of so little comparative importance. We have them * ' from 

 wood," " on Cacti," in the " roots of Orchids," " on decaying Bromelien," 

 "from Cacao bags," "among plants," "with tobacco," "in flour," "on 

 lK)ard a steamer," " in a lemon box," " in an oil cake," etc. 



In fact, only he who has done inspection work, and who has sifted in- 

 sects has any fair id«fa of the multiplicity of ways in which specimens may 

 be tran»porte<l and how closely they can hide. It gives one an increased 

 appreciation of the g;eographica] barrier to find how few species succeed 

 in passing it. 

 ********** 



