MEXICAN cn.Miii'KLA IX WESTERN TEXAS IN 1906. 7 



falling to the ground. It was apprehended that the pests would 

 transfer their attention to the late peaches when these began to 

 ripen, and a few were observed to do so, but apparently when the 

 supply of early peaches was exhausted or rendered unfit for further 

 feeding, the late peaches were not mature enough to be attractive, 

 and consequently suffered practically no injury from this >ource. 



CRAPES. 



In 1005 at Barstow the fruit in the vineyard- was in general 

 only -lightly affected by Pentatoma ligata. The principal damage 

 was in the small gardens in town, where in certain instances the 

 destruction was practically complete. Probably owing to the large 

 area occupied by the vineyard- and to the fact that the fruit of the 

 different varieties ripen- at about the same time, no especial con- 

 centration of the insects in the large vineyard- was noticed, and there 

 wa- no indication that any such concentration occurred. The ripe 

 fruit is preferred, although when the food supply i- short it may be 

 attacked when immature. The injured berry shrivels and under the 

 influence of the hot sun soon becomes raisin-like. 



At Tlahualilo. Durango. Mexico, on July 17. 1905, a vineyard of 

 about 10 acres with vines heavily loaded with fruit became thor- 

 oughly infested by direct migration from an adjacent alfalfa field 

 of adult- and of nymphs in the last two in-tar-. Each cluster of 

 grapes was attacked by several bugs, the maximum noted on a >ingle 

 cluster being 25. Without consultation with the writer the grapes 

 were picked immediately upon discovery of the infestation, the pre- 

 sumption being that the removal of their food would serve a- a 

 check to the insects, to the benefit of the cotton fields. Thi> step 

 was, however, inadvisable, since the fruit, which wa- of compara- 

 tively small value, would have served ;i- a trap at which the bug- 

 could have been easily destroyed when so thickly congregated. A- 

 it wa-. the bug- gathered in group- of hundreds on the trellis posts 

 and on the vines, principally at the forks, where they were destroyed, 

 partly by spraying and partly by use <>t' n gasoline-blast torch. The 

 Last-mentioned method, while effective in it- destruction of the pest, 

 injured the vino to a certain extent in nearly all cases. 



GARDEN "\ EGETAB1 I -. 



Between the middle of dulv and the middle of Auiru-t garden 

 crops at Barstow were affected to a considerable extent by this 

 destructive pest Owing t<> the comparatively -mall amount oi land 

 devoted to such crop-, the actual money equivalent o\' the Loss was 

 not great. The crop- which suffered most were pea-, bean-, and 

 tomatoes. In each case the attack wa- restricted almost entirely to 

 78936°— Bull. 64—11 2 



