138 
together; then the insect turned and in the same way cut the other side. I did ~ 
not see the final movements, as my attention was called off for a few moments, and 
when I again looked the pieces were cut off and lay on the bottom of the tumbler, 
in which a cluster of leaves were, and the edges had been drawn together. I see 
that some of the insects do not leave the leaf—are possibly dead from fungus. 
* * *—[George F. Waters, Massachusetts, September 10, 1891. 
REPLY.— * * * The Leaf-miner which infests Nyssa or Sour Gum is Antispila 
nyssefoliella Clem. <A description of the larva and cocoon, with an account of its 
habits, was given by Clemens in the Proc. Academy Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, Pa., 
in 1860. Chambers has since written on the same insect in Psyche, vol. 11, p. 363. 
* « * —([September 14, 1891.] 
Disappearance of the Gypsy Moth in England. 
«= * * T observe you have had a discussion on the probability of ridding your- 
selves of the Gypsy Moth Ocneria dispar. The difficulty would be to bring about 
united action, the vis inertie of the ordinary man is so hard to overcome; but I sup- 
pose you know that we have unintentionally exterminated it in this country. It 
used to be found in our fen districtsin plenty. Ihavesome old specimens so obtained ; 
but I think it must be forty years at least since one has been taken wild. All the 
modern British specimens have been bred for many generations in captivity and 
have become small. 
It is singular that our two dispars have disappeared, the species in question, and 
also Chrysophanus dispar, both fen insects. 
I think the Gypsy Moth must have been destroyed simply by collectors, but the 
C. dispar was destroyed by drainage indirectly; for in consequence of the rapidity 
with which the water accumulated during one wet season, all the larve were at one 
fell swoop drowned while feeding—alas! a well defined local form of C. hippothe 
lost to the world. They now fetch from £ 4 to £ 5 a pair.—[J. Jenner Weir, 
-England, August 6, 1891. 
Remedies for Squash Borer. 
_ I corresponded with you lately in regard to the Striped Cucumber Beetle. I was 
able to overcome, apparently, that pest, and my squash vines grew and looked vig- 
orous, and had on large squashes, and then began to die. While the false blossoms 
were on, the beetle would enter them, and they would fall to the ground while the 
stems were green. Then I noticed that the leaves in places would turn yellow, then 
the leaf stem, and finally the vine. I took a wire and dug into the vine at the joint 
of the leaf and found a white grub, with a black head, fully an inch long. A num- 
ber were in each vine. Can you tell me what makes the grub, and a preventive ?— 
[George W. Van Eps, New York, August 31, 1891. 
RepLyY.—The larva found mining your squash vines is the common Squash Borer, 
Melittia cucurbite Harris. The parent of this larva is rarely seen, and belongs to the 
family of clear-winged, wasp-like moths known as Sesiide. The moth appears in 
the Middle and Northern States from the middle to the last of June, the female de- 
positing her eggs in the morning and afternoon on the stocks of the plant just about 
or at the surface of the ground. Spraying with Paris green or London purple will 
destroy the young larve as they eat into the stem, but is not as successful as it 
might be, owing to the fact that it is difficult to get the mixture to wet the vine on 
the underside where the egg is deposited and where the larve enter the plant. Pro- 
fessor Smith, of the New Jersey Station, has found a more satisfactory remedy to 
consist in lifting the vines and rubbing the underside of the leaf with the finger, 
thus crushing the eggs. This should be done twice or three times during the egg- 
laying season, say from the middle to the last of June, at intervals of about a week. 
In Mr. Smith’s experience this process was eminently successful. Where planting 
can be deferred until July the moths will have disappeared and no injury need be 
