87 



" The night previous, as the time-keeper, who had about twenty miles to cover, was 

 working homeward on his jigger or railroad velocipede, he encountered the advance 

 guard, and for half a mile pushed his machine along the rail by hand. 



" Section men undertook to sweep them off with alder bushes, but the slight touch 

 of«the twigs would crush them and lubricate the rails, and the mass formed like dough 

 upon the driving-wheels. 



"The train in going down passed through these and others, but the big collection 

 came during the forenoon, and while the knees were being loaded. Of course, sand was 

 used, but it did not avail much, and Superintendent Van Zile was wired, and he ordered 

 out another locomotive from Sebois. 



" On her arrival there began a series of charges at that grade, which now had been 

 liberally sprinkled with sand, but the animal life was so thick that various attempts were 

 unsuccessful, and it was not until late at night and the sun had gone down that the 

 creeping things desisted in their march. 



"With these there had come clouds of mosquitoes, and they very materially aided 

 the other insects by pitching most vigorously into the men, seemingly drawing blood from 

 all nationalities alike, and the sight of a sweating, swearing railroad laborer, frantically 

 brandishing alder boughs over his head with one hand, while with the other he scraped 

 caterpillars, was laughable in the extreme. 



"The matter has at once engaged the attention of Superintendent Van Zile, who is 

 trying to find out from the encyclopedia how long the march of these Maine hosts con- 

 tinues, and it is quite likely that the road alongside this section will be ditched and 

 flooded with running water. Nothing like it was ever known hereabouts before, but 

 then sunlight was never before let into the wilds of Maine as the Canadian road has let 

 it in, and there may be unknown difficulties to come consequent upon it." 



The Effect of Arsenical Insecticides upon the Honey Bee. 



The prevailing opinion seems to favor the theory, that if arsenical mixtures are 

 sprayed or dusted upon fruit trees while the latter are in bloom, the bees which frequent 

 them will be destroyed. With this idea in view fruit-growers have very properly been 

 cautioned not to use these mixtures during the blooming season, and in fact this has been 

 urged as an argument against the use of these substances as insecticides. 



The writer, while in Louisiana, was told by planters that dusting Paris green upon 

 the cotton plants, killed the bees which frequented the blossoms thereon for the purpose 

 of securing the nectar which was contained in them. 



There appears, however, to be some good negative evidence bearing upon the 

 problem, which it will be well to consider before forming a decided opinion in this really 

 important matter. 



Mr. Edwin Yenowine, a fruit-grower near New Albany, Ind., is a very strong advo- 

 cate of the use of arsenical mixtures, as against both Codling Moth and Plum Curculio, 

 and is also, to a limited extent, engaged in apiculture. 



Some time ago, while spending a day with Mr. Yenowine, he reminded me that 

 several years ago he had written me as to the probable effects on bees of the use, during 

 the blooming season, of these arsenical mixtures, and had received a very cautionary 

 reply. It appears that instead of following my advice he sprayed all sorts of fruits freely 

 during a period of two years, both in and out of the blooming season, and instead of 

 destroying his bees they have increased from eight to seventeen strong, healthy colonies, 

 and have furnished honey of which he and his family have partaken freely. This con- 

 versation with Mr. Yenowine took place on the 23rd of June, so that the increase shown 

 was practically that of one unfavorable season, that of 1888. — F. M. Webster, La Fayette, 

 Ind. 



