204 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Orange-colored Fungus on Blackberry and Rasp- 

 berry, 



We have received from Charles Parry, of the 

 Pomona Nursery, Ciiiiiamiuson, N. J., aud 

 from "William Muir of Tox Creek, Mo., speci- 

 mens of an orange-colored fungus, about the 

 size of the head of a common pin, ■which to- 

 wards the middle of Maj' is found by them in 

 great numbers on the lower surface of black- 

 berry and raspberry leaves. As" it ripens it 

 seems to burst open and discharge an orange- 

 colored dust, which consists no doubt of the 

 "si)ores" or microscopically minute seeds by 

 which the fungus propag.ates itself. The speci- 

 mens sent occurred on the wild dewberry leaves, 

 on which plant we have ourselves noticed it in 

 Illinois, and Mr. Parry gives the following ac- 

 count of the way in which it has been gradually 

 spreading- on to the cultivated Blackberry and 

 Raspberry, both which plants, as is well known 

 to botanists, belong to tlie same genus (J?ubt(s) 

 as the dewberry (liubiis canadensis) : 



I think but am not sure that this is a fungoid 

 growth; and if its ravages cannot be checked, itVill 

 prevent the culture of Blackberries and Blackcap Kasj)- 

 berries. I first observed it several years ago upon the 

 dewberries roiuid tlie fences ; next it attacked the 

 DooUttlc Black Raspberry; and last year it made an 

 inroad upon the Dorchester JJlackberries. The fruit 

 spurs that shoot out in the spring, after they are 

 affected, lose the power of blooming and consequently 

 set no fruit. It spreads quite i-apidly, and the bushes 

 affected have a thin spindling growth. Blackberries 

 and Raspberries have no enemy that I know of tliat 

 tlireatens to be as serious as this. We liave not suc- 

 ceeded in arresting this scourge by any means that we 

 have !yet tried, buppose, for instance, all the leaf- 

 bearing portion of all the plants affected were cut away 

 aud burned. "Would the new shoots that sprang up be 

 diseased? 



This last remedy might possibly be effectual, 

 if applied before the fungus had burst and shed 

 its spores ; otherwise not. In any case it would 

 be a very troublesome and expensive one. We 

 should rather recommend dusting the infested 

 bushes with sulphur, which seems to be a spe- 

 cific against most of these leaf funguses. la 

 the meantime we shall be glad to hear from any 

 correspondents on this practically very impor- 

 tant subject. 



Remarkable Peculiarity in the Insect World. 



All the higher animals, such as Mammals or 

 what are commonly called "Quadrupeds," 

 Birds, Reptiles and Fishes, breed an indefinite 

 number of times in the course of their lives. 

 For example, nobody expects that, because a 

 heifer has raised one calf, she is going to die as 

 a matter of course ; neither does a hen necessa- 

 rily die, because she has already reared one 

 brood of chickens. But with insects the case is 

 quite dilferent. Every female insect, with the 

 single exception of a few social species, such as 



Honey-bees aud perhaps Ants aud White Ants 

 {Termites) perish iu the course of the same sea- 

 son, after laying their first aud only batch of 

 eggs. Their race is then run — -the goal is 

 reached — and they retire from the course, to 

 give place to that new generation of the same 

 species, which, although it proceeds from their 

 loins, they are yet in the great majority of cases 

 destined never to behold. 



OJf OUR TABLE. 



TnK IIarpvIS CoKiiKsrON'nkNCE.— Wc referred 

 briefly to this most interesting book iu our last 

 number. From the miscellaneous nature of 

 such a work it is, of course, impossible to give 

 auytl ing- like a complete abstract of it. We 

 think, therefore, that we shall best subserve the 

 interests of our entomological readers, by iudi- 

 cating the modern names of such insects as are 

 from time to time referred to therein, either by 

 manuscript and unpublished namo5, or Avitli- 

 out any names at all. Generally the Editor has 

 supplied this deficiency; but it is impossible for 

 any one man to be equally conversant in all 

 departments of entomology, and it is only by 

 handing it from one to another that the torch of 

 science can be made to burn its brightest. 



P. 22. Lamia ampiUator probably refers to 

 Oncideres cingulatus Say, which we figured A. 

 E. p. 76. It is an interesting fact that Ilentz 

 found this insect to have sawed vast numbers of 

 the hickory twigs off the tree, while they still 

 contained the eggs, and that the eggs in a single 

 twig were " half a dozen or more iu number." 

 Hentz wrote this letter ten j-ears before Prof. 

 Ilaldeman published on the subject. 



P. 48. Fig. 6 is Masmocerus terminatus Say. 



P. 04. Opilus? coccineus, Harris MS. is Thall- 

 er oclerus sanguineus Say. 



P. 79, Boryfliora \0-lin.eata? Say is D.juncta 

 Germar. 



P. 80. Fig. 13 is, Phymapliora pidchella Newm. 

 = No. 770 ou p. 107. 



P. 97. Fig. 15 is Anthophagus verticalis Say. 



P. 1C9. The "army-worm" of tho cotton 

 States is Anomis xylina Say. 



P. 175 (Plate II. Fig. 10), also pp. 247 and 301. 

 Limacodes ephippiatus Ilarr. MS. is Empretia 

 stimulea, Clemens. 



P. 290. The larva described under the head 

 oi Lopliocampa niaculata and figured Plate III. 

 Fig. 9, evidently does not belong to that insect ; 

 for it is distinctly said that " the perfect insect 

 was not obtained." It is in reality the true 

 larva of tessellaris, Sm. Abb., having black pen- 

 cils; while that described on this same page 

 under the head of L. tesseUaris has orange- 



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