25 
writer’s suggestion in 1888 by Dr. F. L. Kilbourne at the Experiment 
Station of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Bennings Road, District of 
Columbia. It is quite likely, however, that the destruction of beetles 
in this way is generally accomplished only after the eggs have been 
laid, although upon this point no definite observations have been made. 
Against the larve in the ground, successful experiments have been 
made with the use of diluted kerosene emulsion on a large scale. In 
1888 such an experiment was made by Mr. W. B. Alwood, at that time 
an assistant in this office, under instructions from the writer, in the 
apitol grounds at Washington. The standard emulsion, diluted 15 
times, was applied by the barrelful, and subsequently washed down 
by copious applications of water. The experiment was perfectly suc- 
cessful, and a full account of it will be found in Insect Life (Vol. 1, 
pp. 48-50). 
Further experiments along this same line were made in 1895 in the 
l-acre celery field of Col. Wright Rives at Rives Station, Md. The 
experiments were made by Mr. Lull, but were only measurably success- 
ful. The application of a standard kerosene emulsion diluted in 15 
parts of water did not injure the celery and killed the larvze which were 
at or near the surface of the ground, but apparently did not injure in 
the least those which were 2 inches or more beneath the surface. Col- 
onel Rives was advised by the writer to take advantage of the habit 
which these larve seem to have of coming to the surface during a heavy 
rain storm by flooding his field (he had abundant water piped to the 
spot), and then when he had brought them to the surface in this way to 
treat them with the diluted kerosene emulsion. There can be no dowbt 
of the success of this method had it been tried, but for some reason it 
was not tried. Experimentally and on a small scale it was tried by Mr. 
Lull with success. Dr. J. B. Smith (16th An. Rep. N. J. State Agr. Exp. 
Sta., 1895, p. 511) states that a liberal top dressing of kainit and lime 
Slacked together, in the proportion of 100 bushels of lime to L ton of 
kainit, ‘‘seems to have answered very wellin some parts of New Jersey. 
* * * It has been found satisfactory wherever used, and is cer- 
tainly worthy of a trial wherever these insects are troublesome.” 
In 1896 Colonel Rives, finding the larve more abundant than ever 
in his celery beds, tried of his own idea a modification of the bran- 
arsenic mash, a remedy which has been successful against grass- 
hoppers in California and elsewhere and against cutworms in different 
parts of the country. Had Colonel Rives consulted the writer before 
trying this remedy, it is safe to say that he would have been told that 
it would be absolutely inefficacious. Nevertheless, according to his 
statement, it was a perfect success. The following statement is in his 
own words: 
“On a brick floor I put about 20 bushels of bran and spread it out 
thin. I took a watering pot and filled it full of water and put a quan- 
tity of common molasses in it, so as to color it very strongly and make 
the water very sweet. I then took this and sprinkled the bran very 
