84 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 



cotton band on top of the " Dendrolene" would serve as a complete pro- 

 tection. There are two other ways of avoiding injury to trees : one is by 

 sowing crimson clover in the orchards believed to be infested, which early 

 in the Spring will furnish an abundance of food for the cut-worms and 

 render them disinclined to crawl up the trunks for feeding purposes ; the 

 other is a ring of poisoned bran placed around every tree, which will be 

 fed upon before the insects undertake to climb ; and the quantity to be 

 applied must depend somewhat upon the number of cut-worms supposed 

 to be in the orchard. Probably a combination of the " Dendrolene" band 

 extending to the surface of the ground, and a ring of poison bran would 

 be the most satisfactory, providing for a mechanical protection to the 

 trees in the first place, and for the destruction of the caterpillars in the 

 second. Mr. Davis claims that it is not necessary to sweeten the bran 

 mi.xture in order to render it attractive to the larvae, and he is probably 

 correct ; but the addition of sugar keeps the mixture moist for a some- 

 what longer time and renders it a little more adhesive, so that it does not 

 so readily drop apart when it dries out a little. Prepared with sugar- 

 water the poisoned bran ought to remain effective for at least three nights^ 

 except where exposed uncovered directly to the sun, in which case it will 

 last only during the one night and will dry during the following day so as 

 to lose its attractiveness to the insects. 



Economic Entomology. — I have on more than one occasion called atten- 

 tion in this Department and elsewhere, to the danger lurking in the ever- 

 increasing search for new varieties of fruits to be grown in the United 

 States. Fruit trees are everywhere subject to insect enemies, and it is an 

 easy matter to introduce these with the plants themselves. The matter 

 has been discussed in the Association of Economic Entomologists, and 

 while the importance of a concerted effort to keep out foreign pests was 

 freely admitted, it was just as universally felt that we could not hope ta 

 get at present any satisfactory supervision over imports where ports of 

 entry are as numerous as in our country. Prof Cockerell, the energetic 

 entomologist of the New Mexcio Station, refuses to be discouraged by 

 the apparent difficulties in the way, and has prepared the thin end of the 

 wedge —which is explained in the following : 



Copy of resolutions concerning the Introduction of Injurious Insects 

 from the South, drawn up by the Entomologist of the N. M. Agricultural 

 Experiment Station and adopted by the council of said Station Jan. 9, 

 1896. 



Resolved, (i) That great injury has already been done to the Agricul- 

 tural and Horticultural interests of the Southern States by the introduc- 

 tion of injurious insects, as witness the various scale-insects on Citrus 

 trees in Florida and Louisiana and cotton-weevil in Texas. 



(2) That it is well known through recent investigations in the West 

 Indies and Central America, that numerous scale insects and other pests 

 exist in the countries to the south of us, but have not yet reached the U. 

 S. Thus for example, the Aspidiotus scutifonnis on Citrus trees in 



