700 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
destructor Say, were so general and so severe as to inflict 
enormous damages, they having been estimated by competent 
parties as high as $3,000,000. A very serious matter has been 
the discovery that the notorious gipsy moth, Porthetria 
dispar Linn., has become well established in the city of Provi- 
dence R. I. Investigations made during the summer show that 
the pest already occupies a considerable area in and about that 
city. While this spread has not been directly toward New York 
state, it may well be regarded as a warning of what may occur 
- within a few years, and residents of the state are advised to keep 
a sharp lookout for the advent of this very destructive insect. 
Office work. There has been no relaxation in the pressure of 
office work, and, though there has been an apparent decrease in 
the amount of correspondence, all of the office staff have been 
obliged to work overtime in order to meet the demands of the 
situation. The determination of scale insects for the state 
department of agriculture still makes considerable inroads on 
our time. Most of this important and very difficult work has 
fallen on my first assistant, Miss Boynton. On the request of 
the commissioner of agriculture, made necessary by the position 
of the state entomologist of Virginia, who refused to accept any 
certificate unless it was vouched for by an official entomologist, 
a general statement was issued approving the work of his in- 
spectors. The time of the office force has been occupied to a 
considerable extent by the reading of proof and verification 
incident to the carrying through the press of two very important 
bulletins soon to be issued, one on the important scale insects 
of the state and the other on aquatic insects of the Adirondack 
region. A number of excellent lantern slides have been pur- 
chased, and some made from original photographs. These form 
a nucleus of what will soon become an excellent collection for 
use in illustrated jectures. The new cards for recording acces- 
sions to the entomologic collections have proved very satisfac- 
tory, resulting in a great Saving of time. 954 letters, 295 postals 
and 693 packages were sent through the mails during the year. 
