295 



gentlemau whose roses are troubled with this pest pick off and burn erery bud which 

 he finds to be infested ? He ought soon to be able to control the insect in this way, 

 or, if he can ascertain the time when the flies are laying their eggs or are issuing 

 from their cocoons, if he will shut his rose house up and puff California Buhach in- 

 dustriously about the place he will certainly kill them all. When the maggots reach 

 full growth they will doubtless crawl out of the buds and drop to the ground and 

 transform to pupae at or just beneath the surface of the earth, probably in little 

 round delicate cocoons from which the flies will eventually issue. — [October 2-i,l-i90.] 



The habits of Phorodon in Oregon. 



On examining some plum trees yesterday in the vicinity of (what had been) an in- 

 fested hop field, I found a few specimens of Phorodon. From the statement of a Mr. 

 Smeed earlier in the season, who declared positively that they had not touched his 

 Plum trees, I thought it possible that in Oregon they might have chosen a different 

 habitat for autumn, but it now appears that their habits are apparently the same as 

 in the section in which you and your assistants worked. I shall follow the matter up 

 closely, as it is ooe of considerable financial importance to some of our counties. — [F. 

 L. Washburn, Corvallis, Oregon, October 20^ 1890. 



Schizoneura tessellata. 



I send inclosed some insects which I believe to be the same as those mentioned in 

 Lintners Fourth Report, page 179, seventh paragraph. I found them on a branch of 

 Swamp Alder September 12, from the woolly appearance of which I was led to think 

 that the branch was attacked by some species of fungus altogether new to me. Upon 

 breaking off the branch I was surprised to see some of the fungus walk oS. The in- 

 closed specimens have shrunk to about one-half of their natural size. Am 1 correct 

 in supposing them to be Schizoneura tessellata Fitch ? — [John D. Lyons, Monticello, 

 New York, October 20, 1690. 



Reply. — The specimens have been examined and you are perfectly right in consid- 

 ering that the species is Schizoneura tessellata Fitch. — [October 27, 1^90. 



"Woodpeckers vs. the Tussock Moth. 



In the summer of 1860 the Elms along Euclid avenue, especially in my vicinity, were 

 attacked by the "New Haven Elm-tree Caterpillar. ' Fearing a repetition of their 

 trouble, numbers of us fought the cocoons in the fall and destroyed thousands, but 

 when winter set in tens of thousands still remained on the outer branches beyond 

 reach. About the first of December a pair of hairy woodpeckers (Picus villosus) made 

 their appearance and fed daily oft^ the grubs ; in the course of that month and the next 

 over a dozen of the birds were added to the number and'by their industry on this par- 

 ticular pest attracted the attention of all who passed. Suffice it to say that when 

 2\Iarch came not a cocoon was to be seen in those places where the branches were 

 literally white with them before ; and more, this is the last we ever saw of the New 

 Haven visitor.— [Dr. E. Sterling, Cleveland, Ohio, October 25, 1390. 



Reply. — You speak of the insect as the New Haven Elm-tree Caterpillar, but the 

 commonest pests of this tree in New Haven are the larva of the imported Elm-leaf 

 Beetle and the Canker-worm, neither of which spins a cocoon. It is probable that the 

 insect with you was the Tussock Moth caterpillar, since you speak of the branches 

 being " white" with the cocoons. — [October 30, 1890. 



Second Letter. — The caterpillar mentioned in my last was, as you surmised, that 

 of the "Tussock-moth." * * * The Woodpecker, however, did the work for them, 

 as they have never troubled the trees here since, though always a few are to be seen 

 in their season. I have always found the native Woodpecker family the greatest 

 destroyers of insects in every stage of their development, and these birds should be 

 protected by the farmer and orchardist in particular, be it the maligned "sap-sucker" 



