62 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



1 6 pounds of finely broken stale white bread, i pound of Paris 

 green and enough water to make a mixture which will run through 

 the fingers) spread broadcast over lawns and gardens between May 

 1 5th and June 1 5th is a very effective control measure. There should 

 be two or three such treatments at intervals of three or four nights. 

 He also suggests that plants which show signs of having been eaten 

 should be sprayed at this time with arsenate of lead, using 6 pounds 

 to 50 gallons of water, and taking care to cover the young leaves. 



After July 1st, if the insects are still abundant, the author advises 

 spraying at night with a contact insecticide, such as the tobacco 

 soap preparation, repeated every three nights until the numbers are 

 reduced and applied in sufficient quantities to wet the insects 

 thoroughly. This should be supplemented by similar applications 

 in the daytime to cracks and crevices where the insects are found in 

 concealment. The pests can be trapped in flowerpots containing 

 excelsior and inverted over 9 inch stakes set in the ground close to 

 plants and vines where the insects are most numerous. They should 

 be put every 10 or 12 feet along the borders or near vines. The 

 earwigs can be destroyed by shaking the excelsior over a pail con- 

 taining kerosene and water. A more detailed account of this insect 

 is found in Bulletin 566 of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture. 



European springtail (Isotoma minuta Tullb.) . Numerous 

 samples, a tablespoonful or thereabouts, of these minute, springtails 

 were received under date of June 7th from Mr McPhillips of Red 

 Hook, accompanied by the statement that they were discovered on 

 the ground and plants in and about a hotbed. The species was 

 kindly determined through the courtesy of Prof. J. W. Folsom of 

 the University of Illinois, who informs us that it is a well-known 

 European species recorded from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, 

 Scotland, Germany, Italy and Siberia and not previously reported 

 from this country, though he has received specimens from Penn- 

 sylvania, Illinois, Kansas and Canada. 



These little wingless insects are a dull bluish gray, about one- 

 twenty-fifth of an inch long and sometimes occur in exceedingly 

 large numbers. They live mostly upon decaying organic matter or 

 such valueless plants as lichens, and only occasionally are members 

 of this group injurious to plants. They can be easily destroyed in 

 hotbeds or on restricted areas by the liberal use of hot water, a 

 solution of hellebore, pyrethrum or tobacco extract, such, for example, 

 as nicotine sulphate (40 per cent nicotine) used at the rate of three- 



