96 



from Mr. J. E. Norton, dated December 4, relating to the resistance 

 of this wood to the so-called Manila white ant or Annia. His letter 

 is in substance as follows: 



In the latter part of 1898 I secured from a transport a piece of redwood board 

 about 12 inches in length, which was placed beneath a pile of lumber in a yard at 

 Manila. The spot was damp, and various pieces of timber all around showed 

 evidence of the existence of the ant in abundance. This piece lay undisturbed for a 

 period of five or six months, and when examined was found as sound as when put 

 there, not having been attacked by any insects. The Chinaman, owner of the lum- 

 ber yard, was still doubtful, and undertook to get it eaten by putting it in different 

 places under different conditions, such as on top of pieces already inhabited, between 

 boards, and underneath piles, and finally, after three months, put the sample on 

 exhibition in his office with the following placard : ' ' Madera Colorado de California, 

 no se comen Annai. ' ' 



The quartermaster's lumber yard had piled for some four or five months a quantity 

 of redwood, which upon my departure in October was still free from ants. 



John MacLeod, of Manila, has a room in one of his houses finished in redwood, 

 constructed over fifteen years ago, and to this day three-fourths of the original 

 amount remains still in good condition, one-fourth having been worn out and 

 replaced by other lumber. 



THE BRAN-ARSENIC MASH AGAINST GRASSHOPPERS IN TEXAS. 



One of our correspondents, Mr. S. D. Harwell, Putnam, Callahan 

 County, Tex., writes as follows in regard to the successful use of bran- 

 arsenic mash as a remedy for grasshoppers in Texas: 



We are successfully using arsenic (for grasshoppers) at the following rates: 10 

 pounds wheat bran, 1J gallons sorghum molasses, 1 pound arsenic. Make a thick 

 mash, sow broadcast on infected ground, and it will surely kill them. I used 40 

 pounds last year and made 49 bales cotton. My neighbors did not do anything and 

 entirely lost their crop. 



TERMITES IN MEXICO. 



We received during August, 1900, from Prof. A. L. Herrera, chief 

 of the commission of parasitology, Condensa 4^, Mexico, D. F., Mex- 

 ico, specimens of Calotermes castaneus Burm., a species widespread 

 and commonly known in Mexico as "Palomilla de San Juan" (St. 

 John's Dove). It is so named from the belief that it puts in its hrst 

 appearance on St. John's day (June 24). It attacks wood and causes 

 serious injury. Two hundred were collected in one room, attracted by 

 a light placed in a vessel containing water. The insects fell into the 

 latter and were drowned. 



AN ENTOMOLOGICAL SERVICE IN MEXICO. 



The Mexican Government proposes to start work in economic 

 entomology under official auspices at an early date. Prof. A. L. 

 Herrera, at present zoologist in the Museo Nacional, is to be u jefe 

 efectivo," and Mr. O. W. Barrett is to be first assistant. The first 

 work will be an investigation of the distribution of the Mexican 

 orange worm (Tryjieta ludens) and the best measures to be used 

 against it. 



