92 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



The Tojiato-Worm. — Dr. Fuller, at the cor- 

 ner of Fayette and Moiitgomerj' streets, has in 

 his office a Tomato-worm measurino^ about Ave 

 inches in length, and weighing abont an ounce. 

 It was takenfrom a tomato vine in his gai-den, 

 and is now securely enclosed in a glass bottle. 

 It eats and digests daily about twenty times its 

 own weight of tomatoes and tomato leaves. 

 It eats constantly, except resting occasionally 

 from one to two minutes at a time. This worm 

 was first discovered this season, and is as poison- 

 ous as the bite of a rattlesnalce. It poisons by 

 - throwing spittle, which it can throw froni one to 

 two feet. This spittle striking the skin, the 

 parts commence at once to swell, and in a few 

 hours death ends the agonies of the patient. 

 Three cases of death in consequence of this poi- 

 son have recently been reported. The medical 

 profession is much excited over this new enemy 

 to human existence. It is advisable for persons 

 picking tomatoes to wear gloves. The question 

 arises whether or not a tomato partly devoured 

 by one of these vermin, and then afterwards 

 eaten by a person, there may not be sufficient 

 virus left upon it to poison the one who eats it? 

 — Syracuse Standard. 



The question arises, whether or not, in a para- 

 graph such as this, written by a silly igno- 

 ramus and published by a sensationist Ed- 

 itor, there may not be sufficient nonsense still 

 undiscovered, to drive fifteen thousand fools 

 crazy? 



PARIS GREEN POISONOUS. 



[From a Letter from Dr. C. Heking, Philad.] 



"In dusting vegetation with Paris Green, in 

 order to destroy noxious insects, the greatest 

 care ought to be taken that the wind may not 

 carry it towards the person of the operatpr. 

 The arsenite of copper is one of the slow but 

 more dangerous poisons. Many people have 

 been poisoned b)^ sleeping in rooms papered 

 with green paper; and this was caused by the 

 very same stuff. It may even injure the soil, if 

 used repeatedly. Small doses of arsenic alone 

 have rather promoted the growth of rye ; but 

 arsenite of copper is much more virulent in its 

 effects, and other cereals or crops may be essen- 

 tially injured by it." 



"We may add here, that a very thin dusting 

 indeed with Paris Green, mixed with flour in 

 order to reduce its strength, is sufficient to pro- 

 duce the desired effect ux^on the obnoxious in- 

 sects. If used too freely, it becomes injurious 

 to vegetation. " Some of our potato vines and 

 egg-plants," says Prof. A. J. Cook of the Michi- 

 gan Agricitltural College, "have been totally 

 ruined by a too free use of Paris Green. "We 

 used one part of the mineral to five parts of 

 flour." 



MR. WALSH'S SUCCESSOR. 



There is perhaps no more forcible exempli- 

 fication of Mr. Walsh's individuality of char- 

 acter, than the fact that it is difficult to find the 

 proper person to fill his place. We are so far 

 interested in this matter that we desire to see 

 some competent person — some one who shall 

 be a credit to the State of Illinois, appointed to 

 fill the vacancy. Mr. Walsh had drawn two 

 years' salary ($4,000), i. e., he had received pay 

 to June 11th, 1869. He had, however, issued 

 but one Report, and the Law requires an An- 

 nual Report to be published. Why he did not 

 publish a second Eeport when it was due, we 

 cannot very well say ; but perhaps he did not 

 understand the true reading of the Law. For 

 about four months during the spring and sum- 

 mer of 1869 lie was quite sick, and too much 

 prostrated to do anything; but he was in excel- 

 lent health and excellent spirits for two or three 

 months previous to the accident which caused 

 his death. He had just got ready to go to work 

 on his second Report, and his last letter to us 

 was principally occupied with an enumeration 

 of the insects he intended to treat of, and of the 

 illustrations that would be needed. The most 

 vigilant search amongst his manuscripts and 

 papers, has failed to reveal any thing written for 

 this Report; but we know, both from corres- 

 pondence and conversation with him, that he 

 intended to add to this second Report a fully 

 illustrated edition of his first, which" was issued 

 as Acting State Entomologist — the two to form 

 one large handsome volume, with about three 

 thousand dollars' worth of steel-plate illustra- 

 tions. 



We recently had the pleasure of calling on 

 Governor Palmer, at Springfield, in company 

 with representatives of the IJxecutive Commit- 

 tee of the Illinois State Horticultural Society. 

 They all seemed to be of the opinion that the 

 best course to pursue would be to defer appoint- 

 ing a successor till the next biennial session of 

 the Legislature, in the winter of 1870-71. But 

 meanwhile to commission some person to cany 

 out Mr. Walsh's intentions, as far as it is pos- 

 sible with our knowledge of them, by publishing 

 a Report on the Entomology of Illinois. If the 

 proper steps are taken, a work on the noxious 

 and beneficial insects of Illinois, equal in use- 

 fulness and popularity to "Harris's Injurious 

 Insects," might be prepared by the end of the 

 year 1870. Our idea would be to republish 

 his first Report with full illustrations, and with 

 such additions and corrections as would be 

 found necessary^ and to add to it a second 



