126 



It has been known to cause the decay of many good trees for perhaps fifteen years in 

 this neighborhood, because they all go just alike. The bark will begin to turn black 

 in the crotch of the limbs, then about six inches from the crotch it will begin to de- 

 cay, turning black first and then white, and in the course of three or four years the 

 tip ends of the limbs begin to die nearly to the body of the tree. The limbs from the 

 crotches up die on the upper side and seem to go from the outside to the center by 

 sawing off and splitting them open. It is the first time that I have had a good sight 

 at the worms, although I have watched the decay for several years. Do you recog- 

 nize the worms ?— [H. L. Jeffrey, Woodbury, Conn., July 23, 1890. 



Reply.— I am of the opinion that the worms which you send have nothing to do 

 with the decay of your trees. They are tbe maggots of a little fly of the genus 

 Sciara, and are attracted, probably, by the decaying condition of the wood. You 

 will therefore have to look further for the true cause of the injury. — [July 24, 1890.1 



GENERAL NOTES. 



DAMAGE BY TOXOPTERA GRAMINUM. 



Colman's Rural World, of St. Louis, called attention last June to the 

 extraordinary abundance of this plant-louse in the vicinity of St. Louis. 

 The oats for 100 miles in every direction were badly damaged, and in 

 general it was predicted that hundreds of thousands of bushels of oats 

 would be destroyed. Tbe insect in question has acquired the popular 

 name of the '* Texas Louse," which seems very appropriate, in view of 

 its great abundance in Texas during the past two summers. It extends'^ 

 however, as far north as northern Indiana. 



AN EXPERIENCE WITH THE GIPSY MOTH. 



We quote from the Orange Judd Farmer of July 5, 1890, an experience 

 contributed by a Mr. J. O. Goodwin to the Medford Mercury : '' I 

 have had quite a little experience with the pest, as in the rear of my 

 premises are three or four large apple trees which have been wholly un- 

 cared for by the owner, and the Tent Caterpillar and Gypsy Worm have 

 held high carnival there until every vestige of green has disappeared^ 

 After devastating my neighbor's trees they marched in myriads for my 

 premises, fairly covering the fences, houses, outbuildings, grass-land, 

 currant bushes, and concrete driveways with their troopiug battalions. 

 I immediately tacked tarred sheathing paper around every one of my 

 trees and keep the paper well coated with printers' ink. The worms will 

 not go over the printers ink if care is taken to make frequent applica- 

 tion of it. Experience, the best of teachers, proves it. During the past 

 week or ten days I have personally attended to the matter and have 

 killed millions of Gypsy Worms which hav^e congregated below the paper 

 on my trees. The trees nearest my neighbor's land were the first ones 

 attacked (they will not pass a tree), and live or six times a day the trees 

 below the paper are literally covered with thousands of worms, notwith- 

 standing I tate great care to kill every worm seen at each inspection, 



