6i2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 



colors, in which case he would advise that the specimen be 

 transferred to alcohol because a low percentage solution of 

 formalin is apt to deteriorate by evaporation. 



Mr. Johnson said that formalin is being abandoned as a pre- 

 servative by most museums, as specimens so preserved will dis- 

 integrate in a few years. 



Prof. Smith referred to his use of oil of citronella to keep off 

 mosquitoes. He had found it excellent for this purpose, and 

 was surprised to see from the latest pviblication on the subject 

 that it was apparently not recorded as a remedy for this purpose. 



Dr. Skinner referred to the occurrence of the black fly Stmic- 

 lium in the Adirondacks. The fly was very annoying at dusk. 



Mr. Johnson exhibited pine twigs infested by several species 

 of insects. Pentilia sp. was found feeding on a scale Chio- 

 naspis pinifolii infesting pine needles ; and the great damage 

 caused by Retinia frustrana was remarked on. The galls of 

 Diplosis piniinops was shown. 



Dr. Skinner spoke of the scarcity of Pselaphidae and other 

 small beetles in the Adirondacks. He had sieved the contents 

 of many ants' nests, but not a specimen of beetle was found. 

 The time of collecting between August 5th and September ist 

 may have been the cause of the lack of specimens. 



Mr. Wenzel said that these beetles are no doubt ab.sent dur- 

 ing certain periods of the summer. 



Mr. Johnson reported the abundance of Tetracha virghiica 

 near Clifton, Delaware Co., Pa. Hundreds of specimens were 

 taken from a well into which they had fallen during one night. 



William J. Fox, Secretary. 



Turkeys to the Rescue — Tennessee Planters find a new way to 

 Destroy Grasshoppers. Several Tennessee planters have adopted a 

 uni(|ue method of destroying the grasshoppers which have overrun plan- 

 tations in Bolivar and Washington Counties and threatened to cut a figure 

 in the cotton yield of the coming season. The old soapsuds remedy, the 

 Osnaburg cloth remedy and the inoculation process have proved of little 

 value in fighting the pest, and now the farmers have come to the conclu- 

 sion to discard the artificial remedies and place turkeys in the cotton 

 fields to eat the grasshoppers. The turkey gobbler has a ravenous appe- 

 tite for the insect, and the planters are coimting on hini to solve the pro- 

 blem of the grasshopper's extermination and to save the cotton crop so 

 far as these two counties are concerned. — Newspaper, 



