176 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



Probably the best way is to put the beans into a tight box and 

 fill it with the vapor of Bisulphide of Carbon and leave it for two 

 or three days. Bisulphide of Carbon is very inflamable and no 

 light should be brought near it. 



Experiments show that infested beans lack in vitality and when 

 good seed can be had it is best to procure it and not run the risk, 

 of perpetuating the pest and growing a crop of weakened plants. 



The Pear-Blight Beetle, or Shot-Borer. 

 Xyleborus pyri, Peck=X. dispar, Fbr. 

 Order Coleoptera : Family Scolytidae. 



Last summer we received some small apple tree limbs from 

 Professor Munson for examination. They were handed to him by 

 Mr. J. N. Allen, North Sedgwick, Me. We obtained the same 

 insect from Dr. Twitchell about the same time from the vicinity of 

 Augusta. These limbs were literally honey-combed with small 

 channels that extended through the liburnum and heart wood to the 

 centre. The exit holes through the bark were .06 to 08 of an 

 inch in diameter and nearly circular, looking like small shot holes. 

 The wood was green showing that the insect attacks the growing 

 tree. Living wood does not appear to be essential to the life and 

 comfort of this species, for after a period of several weeks we 

 found in a limb that had been in a dry place in a box, young 

 larvae, full grown larvae, pupae and perfect beetles. We put a por- 

 tion of a small limb (2 inches by 3 inches) in a box and allowed 

 the pupae to transform and in the fall we found fifty beetles had 

 emerged. 



We wrote a short account of this insect at the time for the 

 Maine Farmer and called it Xyleborus pyri, Peck, the Pear-blight 

 Beetle. To be absolutely certain we sent some specimens to Mr. 

 A. H. Hopkins, Morganlown, West Virginia, who has given special 

 attention to the Scolytids and he sent the following reply : 



"The beetle you sent is Xyleborus pyri, Peck=X. dispar, Fbr. 

 This species is quite common in West Virginia, but strange to say, 

 I have never met with it in apple or pear trees. I find it in hem- 

 lock, beech, birch and oak. I have specimens of X. dispar from 



