34 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Inasmuch as the beetles may attack trees in force during a period 

 of several weeks, it is obviously desirable to watch closely for the 

 appearance of the pest. 



Through the courtesy of Mr Herman W. Merkel, forester of the 

 New York Zoological Park, we were allowed to examine some 

 small hickories treated with 25 and 50 per cent solutions of Barcurol, 

 and also one painted with the undiluted material. It was found 

 that the 25 per cent solution caused little injury to the tissues beyond 

 the area traversed by the borers, and that a considerable proportion 

 of the grubs was destroyed. The 50 per cent solution and the un- 

 diluted material, however, penetrated the galleries readily and then 

 soaked to a depth of half an inch or so into the inner bark and 

 sapwood and laterally to a distance of one and one-half inches from 

 the gallery. It is therefore obvious that the stronger preparations 

 can hardly be advised for this purpose. 



Drought and borer injury. Serious injury by the hickory bark 

 borer began to develop at Geneseo in 1898, and by 1900 many trees, 

 located for the most part on moderately low, naturally moist soil, 

 had died. Unfortunately, weather records for that locality are not 

 complete. It is worthy of note that at nearby Avon from April to 

 June 1896 there was a deficiency of over i inch for each of these 

 months, the record being as follows: April, 1.05; May, 1.98; June, 

 1.97 inches. Approximately the same conditions obtained in 1897, 

 the precipitation being, April, 1.2 1 ; May, 1.75 and June, 1.96 inches. 

 These figures should be compared with the normal precipitation for 

 these months, which is : April, 2.09 ; May, 2.64 and June, 3.22 inches. 

 The total precipitation for this year was only 20.36 inches, while 

 that for 1899 was but 19.35, ^^e normal being 29.46. The data are 

 not so extended as could be desired, but are nevertheless somewhat 

 suggestive. 



The outbreak by the hickory bark beetle in New York and vicinity 

 began about 1908 and had greatly extended its area and become 

 rather general by 1912. An examination of the weather bureau 

 records in New York City shows an interesting condition. From 

 1906 to 1912 inclusive there has been a deficient rainfall except for 

 the year 1967 alone, at which time there wv an excess of only 

 half an inch. The total deficiency during this period amounted to 

 28.56 inches. The most marked deficiency for any year was in 

 1910, with a precipitation 8.75 inches below the normal, a reduction 

 of approximately one-fifth. A scrutiny of the monthly precipitation 

 shows that in 1906 the scarcity of rainfall occurred mostly from 



