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Supposed Injury to Grass from Gastrophysa polygoni. 



Please to inform me as to the inclosed insects. A few days ago they made their 

 appearance in great numbers in the court house yard, and are destroying the grass 

 very rapidly. — [N. R. Smithson, Winchester, III., June 2, 1887. 



Reply. — * * * This beetle is known as Gastrophysa polygoni. It is a perfectly 

 harmless species, injuring no crop and feeding solely upon the weeds of the genus 

 Polygonum (knot-weed, jomt-weed, goose-grass, door-weed, smart- weed, etc.) which 

 grow among the grass in lawns. * * * I know of no recorded instance of such a 

 habit, aud your observation therefore becomes interesting if true. Will you there- 

 fore please advise me whether you are not mistaken, and whether the insect does not 

 feed upon some one of the weeds mentioned among the grass, rather than upon the 

 grass itself ?—[ June 7, 1887.] 



Damage to dead Trunks of Pine by Rhagium lineatum. 



I send you by mail to-day specimens of the Pine-tree Borer, as requested in your 

 letter, which bids fair to exterminate our pine trees. If you have any remedy to ad- 

 vise, would be glad to hear from you. — [E. R. Memminger, Flat Rock, N. C, Septem- 

 ber 8, 1888. 



Reply. — * * * The insects sent are Rhagium lineatum. This species does not 

 kill the pine trees, but simply bores beneath the bark and into the decaying wood of 

 trees that have been killed by some other cause, or dead portions of live trees. It 

 also attacks spruce and fir logs, stumps, aud dead standing trees. In case it should 

 become destructive to logs which have been cut for timber, it can be destroyed by 

 stripping off the bark and portions of the sap-wood infested. — [September 13, 1888.] 



Some Vedalia Letters.* 



* * * The Vedalias that you brought to my p lace about the 20th of last March, 

 and which we colonized on four large orange trees that were covered with Fluted 

 Scale, have spread in all directions, although to begin with they followed the direction 

 of the wind most readily. From those four trees they have multiplied so rapidly that 

 in my orchard of 3,000 trees it is seldom that we can now find a Fluted Scale. I find 

 a few of them on some weeds in spots, but I can also find the beetles there. The 

 trees have put on a new growth and look altogether different; even the black fungus 

 on the old leaves has loosened its hold and begins to fall to the ground. Besides 

 having cleaned my orchard, they spread also to the orchard of my cousin and to my 

 father's orchard ; the latter was also re-enforced by colonies from Mr. J. W. Wolf- 

 skill and from Col. J. R. Dobbins. As my father has some 10,000, trees, and most all 

 were more or less infested, the Vedalias had a grand feast ahead of them, and they 

 have done their work most wonderfully. What I have said of my orchard applies to 

 my father's also, and really to all our neighbors. When the Vedalias first begau to 

 multiply we took colonies of fifty or more in the pupa state and placed them in 

 different portions of the orchard, and even had we not done so the Vedalia unaided 

 would itself have reached there in almost the same time. 



On the Chapman place the Vedalias have cleaned the Fluted Scales off of the 150 

 acres of land. They have taken more than an oppressive burden off of the orange 

 grower's hands, and I for one very much thank the Division of Entomology for the 

 Vedalia cardinalis, the insect that has .worked a miracle. — [A. Scott Chapman, San 

 Gabriel, Cal., October 18, 1889. 



* * * The Vedalia had practically freed my orchard of Iceryas on the 31st of 

 July. It was on that date that I was obliged to post a notice at the enrrance to my 

 place, saying that I had no more Vedalias for distribution. The scale and lady-bird 



*These were addressed to Mr. Coqnillett, at Los Augeles. 



