178 



THE AMEEICAN 



Insect Destroyer — New York, Feb. lA, '70. — 

 " A weak solution of the chloride of lime is said 

 to preserve plants from insects if sprinkled over 

 them. Flies ai-e also got rid of in sl.ibles and 

 other places by scattering- chloride of lime ou a 

 plank. Mixed with half its weight of fatty 

 matter, and a narrow baud of the composition 

 smeai'ed arouud the trunk of a tree, insects will 

 not pass it." I find the above in an English 

 publication, and think it worth trying. The 

 only question is, will it bleach the leaves of the 

 plant? "W. V. Andrkavs. 



No Pj,.\nt-lice Eggs — Warsaw, Ills., Jfctrch 

 ist, 1870. — On page 107 you mention the fact 

 that the apple trees in the vicinity of St. Louis 

 are remarkably free from the eggs of the Plant- 

 louse. A careful examination of my own trees 

 to-day failed to reveal a single one. If Dr. 

 Hull's theory is correct, we shall escape that 

 great scourge of the orchardist, the scab, for 

 one year at least. A. C. Hammond. 



-SCAB" IN APPLE vs. APPLE-TREE PLANT-LICE. 



Ou page 107 of the present volume we showed 

 how Dr. Hull believes that the " scab'" on apples 

 is caused by the punctures of Plant-lice, and we 

 there expressed our oxnnion that the present 

 year will prove an excellent one in which to test 

 the validity of the Doctor's theory, since the 

 apple trees, wherever we had examined them, 

 were entirely free from the Plant-lice eggs. 



As this is a matter of great practical import- 

 ance, and of still greater scientific interest, we 

 earnestly ask our horticultural friends, in dif- 

 ferent parts of the country, to watch carefully 

 whether or not the Plant-lice appear in their 

 own orchards, and whether subsequently their 

 apples are accordingly attacked by, or are free 

 from, "scab." We shall gladly record any facts 

 bearing on the subject. 



• ♦ » 



ly We publish this mouth the first of a series 

 of articles giving instructions how to collect 

 and study insects, from Mr. F. G. Sanborn, of 

 the Boston Society of Natural History. As one 

 of the best field-entomologists in the country, 

 and a collector of long experience, Mr. Sanborn 

 is eminently fitted to give plain and practical 

 directions, and will win the attention and re- 

 ceive the thanks of a great number of our sub- 

 scribers who have been requesting such inform- 

 ation. 



— ■ • ♦ » 



MiCKOSCOi'ES. — We have received from Mr. 

 Geo. Mead, Box 1,03.') Chicago, Ills., one of his 

 Novelty Microscopes. This instrument costs but 

 §2 and will do well enough to amuse little folks. 



ON OTJB, TABLE. 



A Guide to the Study op Insects. — By A. 

 S. Packard, Jr., M. D., Salem, Naturalists' Book 

 Agency. Part X has been on our table for some 

 time. It is about twice as thick as any of the 

 preceding parts, and is embellished with three 

 full-page plates. It contains an iiccount of the 

 Nenroptera, Arachnida and Myriapoda, with 

 an Entomological Calender, Glossary and Index, 

 and completes the work. We have had all the 

 parts bound together, and they form a good 

 sized volume which will be found of great value 

 -and assistance to students of Entomology. We 

 hope before long to find time to give a short 

 review of the work as a whole. 



ItErORTOE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



FOR 1868. — We might say much in favor of this 

 Report had we space. Many improvements 

 have been made since the Department has been 

 under the control of its present commissioner. 

 Colonel Capron. There are two Entomological 

 papers in the volume before us. The first is 

 the report of the Entomologist, Mr. Townend 

 Glover, and is entitled " The Food and Habits 

 of Beetles." It is an elaborate compilation, in- 

 terspersed with some original observations, and 

 is well illustrated. It will be found of value to 

 a certain class of individuals, but, as with all 

 such tabular papers, numerous errors have crept 

 in. The author is doubtless as fully aware of 

 this fact as any one. We know that Mr. Glover 

 must have been greatly occupied with other 

 matters at the time this paper was being pre- 

 pared, and in 110 derogatory mood, therefore, 

 we suggest that any similar paper on the other 

 Orders that may be contemplated, would prove 

 far more valuable to the class of readers for 

 which the Report is intended, if the avowed in- 

 tention, stated in the preface, were more strictly 

 carried out, namely, to give the vulgar name by 

 which the insect is known, or should be known. 

 The tyro in reading and studying such a paper 

 would also be much less confused if the author's 

 name were invariably attached to the scientific 

 appellation of the insect. 



The other paper is entitled " Practical Ento- 

 mology for Farmers' Sons,'' and though anony- 

 mously inserted, we presume it was written by 

 Mr. C. R. Dodge. It is a well prepared paper, 

 giving correct instructions how to collect and 

 prepare insects. There is at present a great 

 demand for just such information as is there 

 given, and the author would render good ser- 

 vice to farmers' sons by striking oft" a number 

 of separate copies, and transposing the head- 

 ings. 



