PREVIOUS WORK WITH INSECT PARASITES. 43 



Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. As a result of the trip 

 following this authorization, Mr. Froggatt has published a report on 

 parasitic and injurious insects, issued in 1909, in which he considers, 

 (1) the commercial value of introduced parasites to deal with insects 

 that are pests; (2) the range and spread of fruit-flies, and the methods 

 adopted in other countries to check them; (3) the value of parasites 

 in exterminating fruit-flies; (4) the habits of cosmopolitan insect 

 pests. On his journey, which began the end of June, 1907, Mr. 

 Froggatt visited Hawaii, the United States, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, 

 Barbados, England, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, 

 Cyprus (spending a day in Smyrna and two days at Beirut on the 

 way), Egypt, India, Ceylon, and thence to Australia, stopping in 

 Western Australia before his return to Sydney. In the course of 

 this trip Mr. Froggatt not only studied the question of parasites and 

 of economic entomology in general, but looked into a large number 

 of matters of agricultural interest, and has given a report which 

 can not fail to be interesting to every one occupied with any branch 

 of agriculture. 



With regard to the practical handling of parasites, and especially 

 international work, he is inclined to be rigidly critical. His motive 

 obviously was to look everywhere for accomplished results and 

 where he could not find these to distinctly state the fact. He depre- 

 cates all claims that are not or have not been justified by practical 

 results of value. Thus, while admitting the good work of the intro- 

 duced parasites of the sugar-cane leafhopper in Hawaii, he states 

 that the advocates of the parasite system do not take into account 

 the alteration of methods of cultivation which occurred about the 

 same time, namely, the burning of the refuse (probably containing 

 many eggs and larvae) instead of burying it as formerly, and the 

 introduction of new varieties of cane more resistant to the leaf- 

 hoppers. In California, he admits the value of the introduction of 

 the Australian ladybird, but states that his observations show that 

 no good has followed the introduction of the codling-moth parasite 

 from Spain, although it had been claimed previously that this parasite 

 would prove a perfect remedy for the apple pest, and pointing out 

 that when he visited Spain he found that a very large percentage of 

 the apple crop is always infested by the codling moth. He states 

 that the promises of the advocates of the parasite method in Cali- 

 fornia have not been fulfilled; that Western Australian claims that 

 staphylinid beetles destroy the majority of the fruit-fly maggots in 

 Brazil, and that nature's forces in that country control the destruc- 

 tive fruit flies are to be contrasted with the statement of the South 

 African entomologists that only a few months after the visit of the 

 West Australian entomologist to Brazil they found that "all along 

 the Brazilian coast it was difficult to obtain a fruit that had not been 



