1 895-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 293 



•'Attached to the fire-engine I had two lengths of %" hose, each about 

 200 ft. long. By this means 1 was enabled to reach all trees within a radius 

 of 500 ft. I used the straight nozzle instead of a sprayer, for I found the 

 latter scattered the stream too much and did not allow the mixture to be 

 thrown far enough. Each tree was sprayed very carefully by men on 

 ladders, and I found that it look about 40 gals, of mixture to spray one 

 good-sized elm well, and that with the above plant and number of men I 

 could spray about 50 trees in a day, located, as they are here, quite near 

 each other. I sprayed all the trees three times, and, as a result, not a 

 single tree lost its leaves from the ravages of the beetle or worm, nor has 

 a single tree had to put forth a second crop of leaves. 



"This speaks well, when we consider the situation last year about the 

 latter part of July. Many trees were entirely bare of leaves and looked 

 as though they had been near a very hot fire; further, one-half of the 

 trees had to put forth a second crop of leaves, and in two instances I 

 think a third crop put in an appearance. True, last Summer (1894) was 

 very favorable for the insect, because it was very warm and dry, whereas 

 this year we had a delightfully cool July, and we were favored by several 

 very heavy storms. 



"Several of the oldest residents of the Post, who have the interest of 

 West Point at heart and who have watched with much interest and atten- 

 tion the various attempts made to save the elms of the Post, state that the 

 elms look better this year than they have any year since the beetle first 

 put in its appearance. This, I think, speaks well for your remedy, for the 

 beetles appeared in great numbers and early in the season this year. I 

 further discovered that the mixture did not injure the most delicate plants 

 in the front yards, nor did the mixture distress or injure the men who 

 handled it, further than perhaps a slight irritation of the throat at the start, 

 but which soon passed away." 



"Next year I propose to start a little earlier, and also shall make an 

 attempt to destroy many of the beetles before they reach the elms." 



This report is, of course, extremely satisfactory, and perhaps one reason 

 for it is to be found in the statement made by Lieutenant Weigel that he 

 followed directions "implicitly," a little point that is altogether too often 

 forgotten by those who undertake to apply insecticides. Of course, the 

 application- was a was tefiil one, but it was made with the apparatus at hand. 

 It did not need a fire-engine, because a one- or two-horse power, small 

 steam-engine mounted on a tank-wagon would have answered the pur- 

 pose just as well. Using a straight nozzle instead of a graduating one, 

 which would throw a spray, doubled the quantity of material required 

 and also the length of time necessary to do the spraying. Even a coarse 

 spray would cover very much more rapidly than a jet, and possibly for 

 such purposes the new Ball nozzle might prove serviceable. At all events 

 the report proves, and this is the real reason for its presentation here, 

 that it is absolutely possib'e to preserve trees on a large scale from the 

 ravages of this insect. 



