10 



ceeded some 7 miles that night. The next morning we followed a trail 

 through the dense and magnificent forest here to Ahlers, where the 

 timber, as far as could be seen in all directions, was dead. The trees 

 had been dead eight or nine years; hence it was not possible to per- 

 sonally investigate the cause of the trouble. I was particularly fortu- 

 nate, however, in obtaining from the postmaster, Mr. Herman Ahlers, 

 a most interesting account of the beginning and ending of the trouble 

 as observed by him at the time. It seems that the trees were defoli- 

 ated, probably by a geometrid larva, in 1890-91, and that nearly all of 

 the hemlock and Tideland spruce on an area lying between 450 and 

 1,200 feet above sea level in the southern half of Clatsop and the 

 northern half of Tillamook counties died as a direct result of this 

 defoliation. 



Returning to Seaside May 11, I did some collecting there from scrub 

 pine, Tideland spruce, and red fir, securing several species of insects 

 new to the collection. At Hillsboro, Oreg., I called on Congressman 

 Tongue, of the First district of Oregon, who heartily approved of the 

 work in which I was engaged and expressed the hope that good results 

 would follow. 



May 12th proceeded to northern Washington to continue investiga- 

 tions in that region, stopping one day at Seattle, and arriving at Port 

 Angeles May 15. Here two days were spent in active work, and many 

 additional facts were determined and valuable material added to the 

 collection. In addition to many of the same set of enemies of the 

 common forest trees observed at other points visited, I found here a 

 lepidopterous larva, as yet undetermined, which was quite common, 

 feeding on the leaves of red fir. 



Returning froni Port Angeles, I stopped two days (May 17, 18) at 

 Port Williams, Wash., where a special investigation was made to 

 determine the cause of the death of a large number of white fir and 

 red fir on a small military reserve there. It was found that the 

 trees were being attacked by the same Scolytus as the one observed 

 near McCloud, Cal., and also by a new Hylesinus. The red fir was 

 infested with Dendroctonus similis, and it was quite evident that this 

 species was the cause of their death. Some of the trees were felled 

 for the purpose of making a thorough study of the insects inhabiting 

 them. Some important facts were learned, and a large series of speci- 

 mens of the insects and their work was collected. 



Returning to Seattle on the 19th, I spent the next day with Professor 

 Kincaid, entomologist at the State University, and several hours were 

 employed in collecting on the extensive and partly forested university 

 campus. 



Leaving Seattle May 20, I proceeded to eastern Washington and 

 northern Idaho, where nearly two weeks were spent in the vicinity of 

 Spokane and Buckeye, Wash., and Sand Point and Kootenai, Idaho, 



