926 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1148 



the planidiurn. Needless to say this type of 

 reproduction forms one of the most extraor- 

 dinary adaptations to environment in the en- 

 tire annals of entomology. 



Harry Scott Smith 

 California State Insectary, 

 Sacramento, Calif. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



NEW ORLEANS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



On Tuesday, November 22, 1916, the academy 

 held a special public meeting to arouse the citizens 

 of New Orleans to the danger threatening vegeta- 

 tion by the presence in the city in vast quantities 

 of the Cottony Cushion Scale. More than two 

 hundred people were present. Mr. T. E. Holloway, 

 of the TJ. S. Bureau of Entomology, read a tele- 

 gram from Mr. L. O. Howard regretting his ab- 

 sence, and then read a paper on the life history 

 of the scale. Mr. E. Foster, assistant state ento- 

 mologist, read a paper upon the different ways in 

 which the scale was being disseminated. Mr. E. B. 

 Barber, of the Bureau of Entomology, read a paper 

 upon the relation to the scale of the Argentine 

 ant, and showed how the presence of the ant com- 

 plicated the situation. Professor E. S. Cocks, pro- 

 fessor of botany, Tulane University, called atten- 

 tion to the very large number of host plants, over 

 seventy, already being attacked, and the probabil- 

 ity that the number would be greatly increased. 

 Mr. J. B. Garrett, state entomologist, emphasized 

 the importance of importing from California or 

 Florida sufficient numbers of the vidalia beetle 

 as the only way to control the pest. 



After some discussion, a committee was ap- 

 pointed with Mr. Clarence F. Low, chairman, to 

 call upon the mayor and request that the city 

 supply the requisite funds to carry on the fight. 



It is gratifying to be able to relate that the 

 city authorities were properly impressed by the 

 committee, and, together with the state, have 

 agreed to furnish the requisite funds for obtain- 

 ing and propagating the beetles. 



E. S. Cocks, 

 Secretary 



New Orleans Academy of Sciences 

 December 4, 1916 



THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 

 The 115th regular meeting of the Botanical So- 

 ciety of Washington was held in the Assembly 

 Hall of the Cosmos Club at 8 p.m., Tuesday, No- 

 vember 7, 1916. 



Michael Shapovalov, Dr. Howard G. MacMillan, 

 Dr. Joseph Eosenbaum and F. E. Miller were 

 elected to membership in the society. 



Under Brief Notes and Eeviews of Literature, 

 Mr. W. T. Swingle called the attention of the so- 

 ciety to a recent edition of an ancient Chinese 

 work on botany, ' ' The Cheng lei pen ts 'ao, ' ' orig- 

 inally published in a.d. 1108. > Dr. A. T. Tenaka 

 reviewed briefly a recently issued ' ' Handbook of 

 Plant Diseases of Japan," by Jinzo Matsumura. 



Dr. E. H. True presented a paper on notes on the 

 life of John Bradbury. Information concerning 

 the life of this early naturalist and explorer of 

 the Missouri Valley is very meager. A consider- 

 able addition has been gained from the correspond- 

 ence carried on between Bradbury and Thomas 

 Jefferson who greatly influenced the course of 

 Bradbury's life and work in this country. Brad- 

 bury's life, gathered from this and other available 

 sources, was sketched in outline. 



Pathological problems in the distribution of 

 perishable plant products were discussed by Dr. 

 C. L. Shear and Dr. W. A. Orton. The enormous 

 losses in recent years caused by the deterioration 

 and decay of fruits and vegetables between the 

 field and the consumer have led to a more active 

 interest in this subject and a desire on the part 

 of those most directly affected to have the causes 

 and means of prevention determined. 



In most cases fungi are the active agents in 

 causing the destruction of such products, and the 

 problem is primarily pathological. In order to 

 devise means of avoiding these losses, a thorough 

 knowledge of all the factors and conditions in- 

 volved must be obtained. Each fruit and vegetable 

 has its own peculiarities and its own parasites. 

 In some cases the cause of loss may be traced to 

 the field, and in others to conditions of transporta- 

 tion and handling. In any specific case the cause 

 and responsibility for the loss can only be deter- 

 mined by careful investigation of all the facts. 



Specific cases of losses to strawberries, peaches, 

 cranberries, watermelons, tomatoes and potatoes 

 were cited to show the complexity of the problems 

 and the danger of drawing any general conclu- 

 sions from insufficient data. It was shown that 

 the means of preventing such losses will depend 

 upon the nature of the cause or causes, as deter- 

 mined by a knowledge of all the factors in any 

 particular case. 



The scientific program was followed by a social 

 hour, with refreshments. 



H. L. Shantz, 

 Corresponding Secretary 



