353 



agriculture of New South Wales. Much was uaturally said on the sub- 

 ject of insect pests, the now cosmopolitan Grape Phylloxera, Codling 

 Moth, aud Wooly Eoot Louse of the Apple leading- the list in the impor- 

 tance of their consideration. Very little that is new to students of econ- 

 omic entomology in America was brought out, and much of the informa- 

 tion of the best informed persons present seems to have been derived 

 from American sources. Many practical men were there and spoke, but, 

 as is so often the case, the difficulty of determining exactly what insect 

 they were discussing rendered their remarks of comparatively slight 

 value, especially at this distance. The so-called fly-bug received some 

 attention, but this important insect is not yet scientifically determined. 

 Mr. A. Sidney Oliif read a general paper on the subject of Insect Pests 

 and Australian Agriculture and a series of interesting experiments by 

 Mr. P. J. Feidler with creosote against the Phylloxera was reported. 

 This substance is used in a pure state by placing tubular poles between 

 the vines and pouring down the liquid. It can be mixed with water in 

 the proportion of one part of creosote to from five to twenty-five or more 

 of water and applied by means of a sprinkler. Mr. J. Patterson recom- 

 mended the use of starch in the proportion of 2 pounds to 16 gallons of 

 water for Eed Scale. He stated that this mixture will adhere to the 

 foliage and fruit and smother the scale, coming oif in flakes after a few 

 days bringing the scales with it and leaving the leaves and fruit as 

 bright and clean as if they had never been infested with scale insects. 



Mr. A. G. Hamilton gave a long list of Australian birds which are ex- 

 clusively insectivorous and another list of those which feed partly on 

 small vertebrates but to a large extent on insects, and another shorter 

 list of those which eat fruit as well as insects and are more or less harm- 

 ful. A list of birds living on grain and fruit is summoned up in the 

 one word '' Parrots. " 



The horticuturists of Victoria have not been behind their confreres in 

 Xew South Wales and Bulletin Xo. 10 of the department of agriculture 

 of Victoria, for September 1890 gives an account of a conference re- 

 specting a means for suppression of insect pests injurious to vegetation 

 held August 6, 1890. The discussion of a bill submitted to the legis- 

 lative council to prevent the introduction and to provide for the de- 

 struction of certain insects which injuriously afl:ect vegetation, and for 

 other i)urposes was the principal order of business. The insects speci- 

 fically mentioned in the interpretation of the bill are the Codling 

 Moth, the Eound Orange Scale {Aspidiotns anrantii), the Hessian Fly, 

 the Migrating Locust (designated as (Edipoda miisica) and the Colorado 

 Potato Beetle. 



A NEW PHYLLOXERA STATION IN BRAZIL. 



Dr. John C. Branner, State Geologist of Arkansas, has kindly sent 

 us a note to the effect that his copy of the Revista de Engenharia (Rio 

 de Janeiro, Brazil), received November 14, 1890, states that it has been 



