l895-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 257 



that had been made by the Gypsy iMoth Committee of this substance, 

 and while its effectiveness was admitted it was pointed out that where the 

 insects were exceedingly numerous they would finally form a bridge of 

 dead bodies over which others safely crossed. Mr. Forbush, m speaking 

 of the toughness of these insects, stated that he had seen caterpillars work 

 their way through a ring of the insect lime and continue their journey 

 above it apparently none the worse. 



Mr. E. B. Southwick spoke of " A City Entomologist and Insecticides, " 

 in which he called attention to the trials and tribulations of a man in public 

 position where there is a constant demand by enthusiasts and inventors 

 for the trial of " unfailing" remedies. 



In the course of this discussion it was plainly shown that in the matter 

 of using insecticides it was not always safe to rely upon results obtained 

 by others, though often those results could not be questioned. That it 

 was yet more unsafe to conclude from our experiments on one species 

 what the action of the same material would be upon another species. In 

 other words we are practically compelled to experiment with every spe- 

 cies that becomes troublesome, and the results in one State are not neces- 

 sarily the same as those obtainable in another State under apparently 

 similar conditions. 



The second day's session began with a paper by Mr. L. O. Howard on 

 " Some Shade-tree Insects of Springfield and other New England towns." 

 Of these insects the Elm Leaf Beetle received the greatest consideration, 

 a careful statement of the spread of this insect in the Eastern States being 

 given and also a record of what had been done in the direction of check- 

 ing or exterminating the pest. The most practical methods of dealing 

 with the insects were referred too, and recommendations for handling the 

 insects in large cities or on large trees were made. The essay was of 

 popular interest, and was published almost in full in the local papers. 

 Another species that was referred to as having become especially abun- 

 dant during the present season was Pseudococcus aceris, which was doing 

 considerable injury to maples in some cities, including Springfield. 



Mr. Marlatt followed with a paper on "The Elm Leaf Beetle in Wash- 

 ington," in which he described the measures taken during the present 

 season on the grounds of the Department of Agriculture — measures 

 which were perfectly successful in protecting the trees. A point upon 

 which stress was laid was the necessity of a very early spraying in order 

 to prevent injury by the beetles, and furthermore it was noted that in 

 spite of the number of broods in Washington the essential effort must be 

 made against the first, and if protection is secured against that the bal- 

 ance of the season is less likely to prove troublesome. To a certain ex- 

 tent the conclusions reached in the New Jersey Report for 1894 were 

 confirmed, and it seems to be largely a matter of an abundance of fresh 

 food as to whether the beetles will or will not lay eggs for subsequent 

 larvae. 



Dr. Lintner followed with another paper upon "The Elm Leaf Beetle 



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