Mat 8, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



745 



In Florida it is the principal orange pest, 

 and puts a very heavy tax on all citrus 

 products in that state. Its damage comes not 

 only from its direct effect on the tree, but 

 also from the sooty mold which follows its 

 presence and spreads over the upper surface 

 of the leaves and discolors the fruit. An ac- 

 count was given of the work done against 

 this insect, beginning with its first descrip- 

 tion by Eiley and Howard in 1893, the sub- 

 sequent investigation of it in Florida from 

 the standpoint of the sooty mold by Webber 

 and Swingle in the early 90's, and the later 

 work under the auspices of the Bureau of 

 Entomology now in progress. The character- 

 istics and action of the sooty mold (Melolia 

 camellia:) which lives in the honeydew 

 secreted' by this and other allied insects, were 

 described. A snail was illustrated which, dur- 

 ing the last few years, has, in a few groves 

 in Manatee County, been apparently a very 

 efficient aid in removing the sooty mold, on 

 which it feeds. 



The natural enemies and means of control 

 of the white fly were discussed. No true 

 insect parasites of the white fly are known. 

 Other species of white flies have many para- 

 sites, but so far none of these have paid any 

 attention to Aleyrodes citri. The principal 

 natural means of control are some four para- 

 sitic fungi, comprising two species of Ascher- 

 sonia, known respectively as the yellow white- 

 fly fungus and the red white-fly fungus ; one 

 species of Microcera, and an undescribed 

 fungus known as the brown fungus. Under 

 favorable conditions these fungi give the 

 groves one clean year in three, with some pro- 

 tection during the other two years. An ac- 

 count of these fungi was given, together with 

 an account of the action of secondary or 

 hyperparasitic fungi. The means of artifi- 

 cially encouraging and disseminating the 

 parasitic fungi were also described. 



By means of lantern slides the process of 

 fumigation of orange trees for the white fiy 

 during the hibernating period in winter was 

 fully illustrated. 



The next paper was by Dr. W. C. Kendall 

 in the form of " Notes on Sebago Lake, 

 Maine." He said that there are nearly 2,000 



lakes in the state of Maine, each over 20 

 acres in extent, of which Sebago Lake is the 

 next to the largest, having an area of approxi- 

 mately 50 square miles, with a greatest depth 

 of 310 feet at the normal level of the lake 

 above the sea. 



Biologically the lake is of particular in- 

 terest, since it is one of the four bodies 

 of water in the state in which the land-locked 

 salmon was indigenous and in which this fish 

 attains the largest size. He stated that two 

 salmon were taken in the State Fish Com- 

 mission weirs last fall weighing respectively 

 31J and 35J pounds. 



The various views of the past and present 

 regarding the place of this fish in classifica- 

 tion were mentioned ; also the various theories 

 regarding the reason of its occurrence in fresh 

 water, the speaker favoring the view that it 

 was derived from the migratory or sea salmon 

 and that it is a distinct species. 



About fifty pictures were shown on the 

 screen, illustrating the conditions about the 

 lake and its outlet, the Presumpscot Eiver, 

 and some of natural history objects. Of par- 

 ticular interest was one showing honeycomb, 

 but without any contents whatever, attached 

 to a bush with no protection from the weather. 

 It was attached to the twigs of the bush about 

 four feet from the ground. When first found, 

 late in October, there were 50 or 75 living 

 bees on the comb, but before it could be photo- 

 graphed a heavy cold rain destroyed the bees. 



In the discussion of this honeycomb, mem- 

 bers differed as to whether the pieces had 

 been thrown into the bushes by bee hunters, 

 and afterward attached to the twigs by bees 

 which later took out the honey, or whether it 

 had been originally built in the position in 

 which it was found. M. C. Maesh, 



Recording Secretary 



THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB 



The meeting for February 11, 1908, was 

 held at the American Museum of Natural 

 History and was called to order by President 

 Eusby at 8:10 p.m. Sixty-five persons were 

 present. 



The scientific program of the evening con- 

 sisted of an illustrated lecture by Dr. A. J. 



