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The following paper from Mr. Cockerell was read by the Secretary 
pro tem.: 
AN EXPERIENCE WITH PARIS GREEN. 
By T. D. A. COCKERELL, Mesilla, N. Mex. 
We have in Mesilla, N. Mex., a serious pest of the peach known as 
Allorhina mutabilis. These beetles, although very like the eastern A. 
nitida, appear to subsist in the larval state on decaying vegetable mat- 
ter and we do not find them injuring the living roots of plants. The 
beetles do not appear on the wing in time to attack the early peach 
crop, but in July they become excessively abundant, destroying the 
later peaches as they ripen. Often a peach will be so covered with 
beetles as to be hardly visible. 
Mr. Frank Burke, living near here, had suffered from the attacks of 
the Allorhina; and after picking all his peaches that were not spoiled, 
he proceeded to wreak his vengeance on the beetles by putting some 
Paris green on the raw surfaces of the overripe and half-eaten peaches. 
So far as the beetles were concerned this did not produce much effect, 
as the baited fruit was little or not at all visited, and soon shrivelled 
up. After a few days, however, the trees showed signs of being locally 
poisoned. Without exception, every twig on which was a baited peach 
had died, and all of the leaves had turned brown. The damage in 
some instances had gone farther, and, following the route of the sap, 
had affected twigs on the same branch farther up, but always on the 
same side as the poisoned twig. .On each branch that was affected all 
of the leaves of the affected twigs were dead, but those of neighboring 
twigs, not in the route of the sap, were unaffected, showing that the 
results could not be due to any fumes given off, but were wholly due to 
the absorption of the poison. 
That a comparatively insoluble poison like Paris green, applied to an 
overripe and rotting peach, should pass into the circulation of the tree 
like this is a thing I could hardly have believed had I not seen the 
results myself. The weather being very hot, and the climate dry, the 
circulation of sap must be rapid in this region, to make up for the evap- 
oration. It may well be, therefore, that like results would not be 
produced so readily in the Eastern States. 
After the reading of this paper the meeting adjourned until 2 p. m. 
AFTERNOON SESSION, THURSDAY, AUGUST 122, 1897. 
The joint session with the Society for the Promotion of Agriculture 
was opened at 2 o’clock with President Webster in the chair, and the 
following economic entomologists were elected to active membership: 
W. B. Barrows, Agricultural College, Michigan. - 
R. H. Pettit, Agricultural College, Michigan. 
W.S. Blatehley, Indianapolis, Ind. 
