ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 21 



and the people are thus being brought to see that the aim of the experimental farms is 

 not the providing of handsome residences in a charming locality for a certain number of 

 scientific gentlemen, but that there is a very real money value to the agricultural interests 

 of the country in the work and investigations which are being carried on there. But 

 naturally from the large sums annually devoted by the Central Government at Washing- 

 ton and the various States to the prosecution of economic entomology by a large and 

 highly trained force of entomologists, the work in that country must necessarily 

 overshadow what we are doing in Canada, though I think it is also undoubtedly a fact 

 that from our more northern latitude we are much less subject to insect depredations of 

 a devastating character. 



The attack which in recent years has caused the most widespread alarm on account 

 of the serious nature of the damage likely to result from it is unquestionably that of the 

 San Jose* Scale. This most injurious insect appeared in California late in the seventies, was 

 brought east on nursery stock to New Jersey in 1887 or 1888 and had by 1893, when its 

 presence in the Eastern States was discovered by Dr. Howard, spread through portions of 

 almost every one of the Eastern and Middle States causing the death of thousands of trees 

 before its presence became known. Naturally it soon became a subject of discussion at 

 all meetings of agriculturists and entomologists and has been the subject of legislation by 

 sixteen of the States. 



From this very necessary publicity it was naturally to be expected that other coun- 

 tries would take alarm and endeavor to protect their agricultural interests from so great 

 a danger. The first country to do so was Germany, the German Emperor issuing a decree 

 on the 5th February last prohibiting the importation of fruits and plants from America, 

 which prohibition was subsequently restricted to living plants and fresh fruits which 

 might be found to be affected by living scale. 



Following shortly after the action of Germany came the passing by our Canadian 

 Parliament of the San Jose' Scale Act on the 18th March last, by which Act it was pro- 

 vided that nursery stock should be excluded when imported from such infected countries 

 as might be designated by the Governor- General in Council, and the United States, 

 Australia, Japan and the Hawaiian Islands were immediately so designated, the plants 

 not subject to the attack of the Scale being exempted from the operation of the Act. 



A month later the Government of Austria-Hungary issued a decree barring out 

 living plants, grafts and layers, as well as the packings and coverings, but not excluding 

 fruit except such as might upon examination be found to be infected. Following this the 

 Government of the Netherlands sent an expert to the United States to investigate and 

 report, and Sweden also sent an expert partly for the purpose of making a similar investi- 

 gation. 



The Legislature of Ontario has passed a law for the destruction of badly infested 

 trees and providing reasonable compensation for loss so incurred, while in the United 

 States a bill governing inter state commerce in nursery stock and providing for quarantine 

 in the principal ports of the country was reported favourably upon by the Committee 

 on Agriculture at the last session of Congress and will doubtless become law at an early 

 date. 



In this connection attention may be directed to the obvious limitations of the use of 

 natural enemies of insect pests, the attempted introduction of Calif ornian beetles into New 

 Jersey in the hope of their multiplying and checking the San Jose - scale having proved 

 a failure, as has also the attempt to infect the scales with a parasitic fungus from 

 Florida. 



The present year has been an important periodical cicada year, the broods occurring 

 this year being the brood XVII. of the Septendecim race and brood VII. of the Tredecim 

 race. In this connection especial attention should be called to the very important pam- 

 phlet upon this subject prepared by Mr. C. L. Marlatt, First Assistant Entomologist at 

 Washington, and issued as Bulletin No. 14 of the new series of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture. This paper extending to 148 pages copiously illustrated, is certainly the most 



