69 



An undetermined species of Myzocallis, as determined by Mr. Per- 

 gande on request of Mr. Howard, was excessively abundant in timothy 

 meadows in southern Ohio in June, appearing to have damaged the 

 hay crop over quite a large area fully 20 per cent, and in one meadow 

 near Portsmouth the damage was fully 50 per cent. I was unable to 

 reach the infested meadows until nearly all of the depredators had dis- 

 appeared, which they did very suddenly, but I found nearly all of the 

 leaves of timothy had become brown and nearly worthless for fodder. 

 The few specimens found by me were on the upper side of the leaves near 

 the base, but very careful observers in whom I have perfect confidence 

 say that there were a week earlier, or about July 1, hundreds of them 

 on many of the blades of timothy, and that these last turned yellow 

 and then brown. In the insectary, where we have the species under 

 continual observation, we have found these statements to prove true. 



The grape root- worm (Fidia viticida) still ravages the vineyards along 

 Lake Erie, east of Cleveland, but I am pleased to say that the ravages 

 seem to be on the decline. I can see no other reason for this except 

 the increase in numbers of enemies to the eggs. The minute egg para- 

 site, Brachystichta fidice Ashmead, has increased enormously within the 

 last two years, and I also found the mite, Heterosis ventricosns, pres- 

 ent this season for the first time and in situations that leave no doubt 

 that it will prove a powerful ally in reducing the number of Fidia 

 larvae entering the ground this season. So far we have found bisul- 

 phide of carbon too expensive, while kerosene emulsion can not be 

 applied to the vines because of spotting the grapes, and its application 

 to the roots to destroy the larvaB in the ground is wholly impractical, 

 even if effective, which has yet to be proven. The adults do not yield 

 at all readily to poison and we have had poor success with driving the 

 beetles away with applications of Bordeaux mixture containing 9 

 pounds of copper sulphate and G pounds of lime to 50 gallons of water, 

 notwithstanding some encouraging reports from several growers. 



The San Jose scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus) is not spreading in Ohio, 

 so far as I can learn, but is being exterminated wherever it has been 

 introduced and such introduction become known. In two orchards 

 near New Richmond, Ohio ; kerosene in an undiluted form has been 

 used with marked success, both last year and this, without the least 

 injury to the trees, either apple or peach. I am unwilling to recom- 

 mend this treatment for general use as yet, but the results gained as 

 against the San Jose scale are so valuable that I give the details, with 

 the hope that equally good results may bo obtained elsewhere (luring 

 other years. Where the top was seriously infested with scale this was 

 cut away and burned, the trunk painted with kerosene, and at the 

 proper season grafts were placed in the stubs of the old limbs that had 

 been left sufficiently long for the purpose. In this case a new top has 

 been grown on the old trunk, often a more symmetrical top than the 

 original, the tree thereby losing but little by reason of the attack by 



