1896.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 245 



DEPARTMENT OF EGONOMIG ENTOMOLOGY. 



Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, ScD., 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. 



Proceedings of the Association of Economic Entomologists.— The Asso- 

 ciation met at Buffalo, N. Y., August, 21 and 22, with a good atten- 

 dance of members present. The papers presented were all of general 

 interest, and much discussion was had on the subjects presented. It 

 was on the whole a very successful meeting, and beside the advantage 

 derived from the discussions, the association of the members with each 

 other, and the personal exchange of opinions was of the highest interest 

 and value. 



At the session held on the morning of the 21st, Prof C. H. Fernald, 

 the President, read his annual address, in which he treated of the "Evolu- 

 tion of Economic Entomology." He began by proving the importance 

 of the matter in ancient times, and cited Pliny for a long series of sugges- 

 tions, as to methods by which insect injury could be avoided. Some of 

 these were decidedly interesting and he followed with a list of the recom- 

 mendations made by subsequent writers including such invaluable and 

 infallible methods as hanging the bones of a mare's head upon the paling 

 surrounding the garden, or anointing them with the blood of lizards or 

 similar materials. Later on insecticides began to be used, and among 

 the first to be suggested was white hellebore boiled in milk. The import- 

 ance of collecting specimens and of destroying them in their several 

 stages began to be recognized quite early, and the importance of univer- 

 sal action was urged even in the earliest times. The rapid increase in 

 knowledge within the last decade was briefly sketched, and it was urged 

 that we should endeavor to secure uniform laws throughout the country 

 to regulate the measures against certain kinds of insects to prevent their 

 undue spread and harmfulness. Previous laws on the subject were also 

 referred to ; but these were cases where the insects themselves were 

 actually cited into court to answer for the damage that they did, and if 

 they failed to appear, which was usually the case, they were excommuni- 

 cated. It was suggested that this kind of law had never produced any 

 satisfactory effect, and the regulations to be now prescribed were rather 

 such as would compel agriculturists to adopt reasonable methods to pre- 

 vent spread and check injury. 



Mr. L. O. Howard read a paper on "Some Temperature effects upon 

 Household Insects." He stated that it is becoming the practice to pre- 

 serve furs, valuable rugs and articles of clothing from the attacks of moths 

 and the like by placing them in cold storage, and this method has proved 

 to be absolutely effective in the past. The question has arisen, however, 

 at what temperature should these articles be kept in order to insure them 



