l8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



State herbarium. Continued curatorial work on the collections 



has resulted in bringing the large assemblage of fungi, mosses, 

 lichens, ferns and flowering plants into an improved systematic 

 arrangement. 



In addition to assembling the current collections for incorporation 

 into the herbarium, a large amount of unmounted material has been 

 brought together and is in process of being mounted by competent 

 temporary assistance, beginning June 15, 1920. 



ENTOMOLOGY 



The Entomologist reports that the season of 1919 was made note- 

 worthy in entomological annals by the discovery in late January of 

 the European corn borer at Scotia, Schenectady county. The 

 infestation was found subsequently to include portions of Alban)', 

 Schenectady, Schoharie, Montgomery, Fulton, Saratoga and Rens- 

 selaer counties, and to extend from a little east of Troy westward to 

 Fort Hunter, north nearly to Saratoga and south to Esperance. 

 The presence of the pest on the Mohawk flats made the problem 

 more serious because there was constant danger of high water with 

 the accompanying drifting of corn stalks, some presumably contain- 

 ing living caterpillars, down the river. 



The situation was carefully studied in early February and after 

 a series of conferences with state and federal authorities, it was 

 decided to make an attempt to clean up the infestation and prevent 

 the further spread of the pest. The entomologists of the State 

 were unanimous in adopting a progressive policy and as an outcome 

 of their representations the Legislature passed an emergency act 

 appropriating $75,000 to the State Department of Farms and Markets 

 to be used for corn borer control. Although the time for doing 

 efifective work was very limited, and conditions in early spring 

 decidedly unfavorable for effective operations, the undertaking 

 resulted in a very satisfactory clean-up of the known infested terri- 

 tory, which at that time approximated 300 square miles. There was 

 then no good ground for believing there would be but one genera- 

 tion of the insect in New York State and that consequently local 

 injury would be comparatively slight because there is only a small 

 variation in climatic conditions between the infested section about 

 Boston, Mass., where two broods are the rule, and the territory 

 where this insect was found in eastern New York. This peculiar 

 restriction could not be demonstrated until mid-September conditions 

 indicated that the borers had ceased activities for the season. 



