13G MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



been first noticed at the Post Office in Orono on roses, we wrote 

 Diugee & Couard Co. about the matter and below we give their 

 reply. , 



West Grove, Pa., Jan. 21, '92. 

 Francis L. Harvey, Esq., 



Orono, Me. 

 Dear Sir : — Your kind letter to hand and contents carefully 

 noted. We will gladl}' give you any information we can to assist 

 you in this important undertaking. The insect or pest you 

 describe which is so seriously affectiug window and house plants 

 through your locality, we must say we know nothing of. We 

 have not come in contact with such a pest in any of our houses or 

 on our plants like this, and can assure you it did not originate 

 with us, or we would know something of it. Such pests are more 

 frequently found among soft wooded plants. We have but little 

 of this class of stock in our establishment and consequently are 

 troubled but little with any insect. We are sometimes visited with 

 the red spider on our roses, but such is a very rare occurrence, 

 and when thus affected it is not at all a serious matter to get 

 rid of them, syringing them twice a day being a very satisfactory 

 remedy and always effective. We find when plants are kept in a 

 perfectly healthy condition there is little or no danger of the pest 

 or insect of any kind attacking them. The red spider can hardly 

 be termed a pest. It is with us but a mild disease caused by too 

 warm and dry an atmosphere. We shall be glad if this informa- 

 tion is of any advantage to you and will gladly give you any other 

 information we can. 



Very truly yours, 



The Dingee & Conard Co. 



We wrote again to Dingee & Conard Co. for specimens of 

 'what they regarded as the red spider, and the species sent was the 

 same as the one found here so far as we could tell from a careful 

 microscopic examination. We also requested Prof. Bailey to send 

 us specimens of the red spider. He said they had none in their 

 houses but one of his men procurred some from another source 

 which we were unable to separate from the Cornell green-house 

 specimens only by their being redder in color. 



We must confess that we are very much confused by the above 

 data. Henderson, Bailey and Munson, who have had considerable 

 experience with this mite are decided in their opinion that it is 

 entirely different in its habits from the red spider and will not 



