i6 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVII. No. 414 



the Nebraska agent of the division. The species involved 

 proved to be Camnula pellucida, which has overrun a strip 

 of country a hundred aad forty miles in length by from fif- 

 teen to thirty in width, commencing at a point about thirty 

 miles westward of Soldier, Idaho, and extending east as far 

 as East River and Birch Creek. The people in these sections 

 are quite willing to do whatever can be done to destroy these 

 insects, but they need instruction. The country has been 

 largely settled since the publication of the early reports of 

 the United States Entomological Commission, and the new 

 settlers lack experience in dealing with locusts; for fifteen 

 years make great changes in the rapidly growing West. I 

 have therefore in preparation a bulleti n treating of the several 

 species of locusts which are responsible for these frequent 

 scares, and which will' include, at the same time, a summary 

 of the practical portions of the earlier reports of the Entomo- 

 logical Commission on Caloptenus spretus, long since out of 

 print. 



The army-worm proved injurious in several localities dur- 

 ing the past year, particularly in Maryland and Indiana. 

 The Maryland occurrence is of considerable interest, owing 

 to the fact that the preceding year was one of unusual pre- 

 cipitation ; and the outbreak of the insect was due rather to 

 the extremely mild winter, which prompted the constant 

 growth and development of the hibernating larvae. 



The notices ia Insect Life and the Entomologists' Monthly 

 Magazine of the damage caused by a new bark-louse to the 

 gardens of Alexandria, Egypt, have attracted considerable 

 attention, and Mr. J. W. Douglas has described the new 

 depredator as Crossotosoma (egyptiacum. A study of Mr. 

 Douglas's description and Hgures has convinced me that this 

 insect is an Icerya. and that its spread is greatly to be feared, 

 judging from our experience with I. purchasi. Moreover, 

 three additional species of this genus have been brought to 

 my notice during the year, — one occurring in Mexico on 

 grape-vine; another in Key West, Fla., upon roses and other 

 garden plants; and the third in the Island of Montserrat, 

 West Indies, upon the cocoa palm, the banana, and a species 

 of Chrysophyllum. These interesting and injurious insects 

 have been investigated, so far as could be done, by corre- 

 spondence; and full descriptions, with figures, will be pub- 

 lished in the forthcoming number of Insect Life. 



The sugar-beet industry, after a quarter of a century's 

 vicissitude, has begun a substantial and permanent growth, 

 especially in Nebraska. It has been found that the crop is 

 speedily attacked by insects; and Mr. Bruner, being advan- 

 tageously located for work of this kind, has, during the 

 past summer, paid some attention to the insect enemies of 

 this crop, and has already a list of sixty-four species, most 

 -of them being leaf-eaters and such as are commonly found 

 upon various allied succulent plants, one of the worst being 

 :±he garden web-worm {Eurycreon rantalis). 

 The Hop Phorodon. 



One of the most interesting facts of the year has been the 

 'Occurrence of the hop-fly (Phorodon humuli) in the extreme 

 North-west, especially in Oregon and Washington, so soon 

 after my note of warning as to the danger of its introduction 

 to the hop-flelds of that section, and the need of precaution- 

 ary measures that might prevent such a calamity. The soil 

 and climate of southern Oregon seem particularly adapted 

 to the growth of the hop, as it is already the leading crop in 

 Lane, Marion, Polk, and other counties. 



There can be no doubt about the species, because Mr. F. 

 L. Washburn, the entomologist of the experiment station, 

 has given it some attention; and I have also received speci- 



mens from him and from Mr. A. Todd of Eugene, Oregon, 

 as also from Mr. Giles Farmin and Mr. G-. M. Btratton of 

 Puyallup, Wash. 



Mr. Washburn, from the fact that it has been noticed that 

 hops were sometimes not so much affected in the immediate 

 vicinity of plum-trees as some distance away, and from the 

 further fact that some of the growers reported that they 

 never saw the insect on the plum, intimates that there 

 must be a different state of affairs in Oregon, so far as the 

 life cycle of the insect is concerned, from that which pre- 

 vails in the Eastern States and in Europe. Absolute and 

 experimental proof of facts obtained after long and persist- 

 ent investigation should never be lightly questioned. It is 

 by no means a common experience that hop-plants in the 

 immediate vicinity of plum-trees are not more affected than, 

 or as much as, others at a distance; and this may depend on 

 the direction of the wind, or on local circumstances, or on 

 the variety of plum, whether wild or cultivated. I have 

 examined in vain certain cultivated plum-trees for evidence 

 of Phorodon, whereas I have invariably found it upon other 

 varieties in the same vicinity. Phorodon humuli, in com- 

 mon with all other aphidids, preferably chooses, when mi- 

 grating, certain genial days, and often fills the air, flying 

 great distances. In perfectly calm weather the migrants 

 settle almost everywhere; but they are easily affected by 

 the least breeze, and are wafted in different directions. The 

 invasion of a hop-yard may be from plum-trees miles away 

 to windward. 



Phylloxera. 



The grape Phylloxera has continued to attract the attention 

 not only of most European governments, but also of those 

 of Australia and New Zealand. It continues its spread in 

 France, having at last invaded the more valuable cham- 

 pagne districts. The last report of the Superior Phylloxera 

 Commission of that country shows that about 240,000 acres 

 have undergone defensive measures, submersion being em- 

 ployed in 72,000, bisulphide of carbon in 145,000, and sul- 

 pho carbonate of potassium in 23,000. The work is practi- 

 cally at an end in such departments as Herault, Gard, and 

 Gironde, where the American resistant vines have most 

 eft'ectually been used; while the wine-growers of Algeria, 

 Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Austria, and Switzerland, 

 are all battling against it, and are all more or less aided by 

 their respective governments. 



The advent of the insect in New Zealand has been the 

 cause of much writing and of much legislation there, and 

 the government has been quite anxious to get the best and 

 latest information on the subject There is very little that 

 is available in the way of published experience in this coun- 

 try, as my Missouri reports are now very difficult to obtain. 

 I would repeat here in substance what I have recently writ- 

 ten to Mr. F. D. Bell, agent general at London for New 

 Zealand, because the demand for the information is continu- 

 ous, and our own people are to a great extent unfamiliar 

 with the facts. 



During the more than twenty years' struggle in Frjnce 

 against the species, innumerable remedies have been pro- 

 posed, most of which have proved to be absolutely valueless. 

 A few measures have been devised, however, which, under 

 proper conditions, give fairly satisfactory results. These 

 consist in (1) methods which avoid the necessity of direct 

 treatment, comprising the use of American stocks and plant- 

 ing in sandy soils; (2) the employment of insecticides (bi- 

 sulphide of carbon, sulpho-carbonate of potassium, and the 

 kerosene emulsion) ; and (3) submersion. 



