420 Forty-sixth Report on the State Museum 



uncommon there, but such as we are never called to contend with in the 

 State of New York. He "had never seen insects in such numbers, in 

 such constantly increasing swarms and of such enormous industry. * * 

 It was simply awful ! Every cherry was cleared off. Apple trees pre- 

 sented a great mass of sprawling rose-bugs burdening each apple. The 

 fruit itself w^as not visible, but its situation was marked by the clumps 

 of beetles. Nothing escaped them except peaches, and they, only, 

 because there were none anyway. Pears were infested as badly as 

 apples. Of the small fruits the blackberry seemed very attractive. 

 * * * Raspberries were entirely destroyed. * * * They were in 

 such force in Colonel Pearson's strawberry patches that- the field looked 

 like a yellow mass of moving insects. Millions of them swarmed on 

 a couple of sour-gum trees on the road. In the vineyard, the 

 havoc was Avoeful. Dozens of them were on each bunch of blossoms, 

 and their fate w^as sealed. There were not blossoms enough to go 

 round. On Clintons, they ate the entire leaf. * * * The contem- 

 plation of such enormous swarms induced a feeling of helplessness that 

 was discouraging." 



Colonel Pearson had used the usual copper compounds and found 

 none of them effective. Yines completely coated with the Bordeaux 

 mixture were as badly attacked as were those where none was applied. 

 London purple had been used, and while it had killed some of the 

 insects, "it was not protective at all, since all the buds and blossoms 

 were eaten before the poison began, to work." 



Experiments made by Prof. Smith gave the following results: car- 

 bolated lime served no purpose as a repellant; fresh air-slaked lime 

 dusted on the leaves, was ineffective, and applied in liquid to the extent 

 of whitening the foliage, gave no better results; powdered napthaline 

 mixed with carbonate of lime, although strongly odorous, had no 

 effect; tobacco powder and the X. O. Dust, seemed to serve as a relish 

 and an appetizer; a strong solution of tobacco applied until the leaves 

 were coated, gave the same effects; pyrethrum powder, which has been 

 recommended by the Mural Neio Yorker as an infallible remedy, failed 

 entirely to keep away or to kill the insects, or arrest the ravages, 

 although used of the strength of one-fourth of a pound to a gallon of 

 water, and of a quality warranted pure and perfectly fresh, for which 

 $2 per pound was paid; a strong decoction of quassia was not in the 

 least distasteful to them; acetate of copper, digitalis, and acetic acid, 

 were each barren of any good result; even kerosene emulsion, while it 

 drove them away temporarily, did not prevent their return. At this 

 time, toward the close of the campaign, sludge-oil soap was applied, 

 with the result already stated. 



