48 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



of the garden mushroom, Agaricus campester hor- 

 tensis Cke., which ordinarily is rarely seen growing wild. 

 This indicates that gentle rains are better than severe ones, for 

 this variety at least. 



No evidence has been seen or received indicating any .advance 

 northward in the State of the chestnut tree disease, Valso- 

 nectria parasitica (Murr.), which proved so destructive 

 to chestnut trees in the vicinity of New York city and Brooklyn 

 two or three years ago. It is very probable that it has already 

 reached its northern inland limit. 



The favor with which the limited monographs of certain New 

 York genera of fleshy fungi has been received has led to a 

 continuance of this work. Accordingly descriptions of the New 

 York species of the closely related genera Inocybe and Hebe- 

 loma have been prepared, together with synoptical keys to their 

 subgenera and species. 



A list of the genera of fungi previously treated in this way 

 together with references to their respective places of publica- 

 tion, has been prepared by Mr S. H. Burnham, the assistant 

 botanist. He has also prepared a list of the edible, poisonous 

 and unwholesome fungi already published with their biblio- 

 graphic references. 



IV 



REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 



The State Entomologist reports that during the year thou- 

 sands of young brown tail moth caterpillars in their winter 

 nests were imported on shipments of nursery stock from France. 

 The middle of June a small colony of nearly full-grown cater- 

 pillars of this species was discovered at Port Chester, N. Y. 

 The thoroughgoing measures adopted in these instances appear 

 to have resulted in the temporary extermination of these pests 

 from this State. 



Fruit tree pests. The most conspicuous injury to fruit the 

 past season was undoubtedly caused by the hordes of plant lice 

 which not only abounded upon apple trees but were exceedingly 

 numerous on the cherry and more or less destructive to the 

 plum. In consequence of the attack on the apple, the trees pro- 

 duced large numbers of small, gnarly fruit, which formed 35 

 to 45 per cent of the total fruit in some orchards. The exact 

 records of the injury in the two experimental orchards will be 



