144 



Into this receptacle is tlieu pom^ed a tablespoouful of kerosene, and tlie 

 mosquitoes at rest upon tlie ceiling are easily trapped by simply plac- 

 ing this kerosene cnp under them and close up to the ceiling. In their 

 endeavor to escape they fall at once into the kerosene and are killed. 

 On the morning of September 25 the writer captured in this Tray seventy- 

 five mosquitoes on the ceiling of the room which he had occupied dur- 

 ing the night. Most of the seventy-five were filled with blood, which, 

 we think, is a suflicient argument in favor of performing the operation 

 before going to bed rather than after arising I This was at Montclair. 

 X. J. 



^-EWSPAPEE E^'TOMOLOCiT AC^AI^^. 



Even the ai:)parently truthful and perfectly ch^'umstantial stories 

 which appear as press dispatches in the columns of some of our best 

 newspapers will bear investigation. A prominent Xew York daily, for 

 instance, in the early part of September, published a dispatch from 

 Newark, X. J., stating that five horses had died from the attacks of 

 Texas Fhes (meaning, doubtless, the Horn Fly, Hcematohia serrata). As 

 this insect does not infest horses, and as the death of an animal from 

 its dn-ect attack has not hitherto been substantiated, we wrote to the 

 gentleman whose name and address was given, and received the foUoT^-- 

 ing statement from Dr. James D. Hopkins, veterinary surgeon, of 

 ]S'ewark, which indicates that oiu^ preconceived ideas in regard to the 

 ti^uthfulness of the dispatch were correct : 



Mr. li;)^t five horses, two from lieat and tliree from colic or enteritis. 



I attended three of tliem; the other two died before aid could be stunmoned, but the 



history of the case indicated phiinlv the cause of death. Mr. talked 



a good deal about the sudden and peculiar deaths of his horses, and the newspapers 

 made a mess (as usual) of it, although I gave them full information on the subject. 



WIDESPREAD TEOUBLE FE03I THE HOEX FLY. 



It is remarkable with what rapidity the Horn Ylx {Bcematohia serrata) 

 has spread over the country. AH through the Northern States and ui) 

 into Canada it is becoming a grievous pest. We spent some time dur- 

 ing August on the shores of Lake Ontario, and it was xnteous to seethe 

 suffering of the cattle along the highways. In many instances farmers 

 were obhged to cover their animals to give them partial protection. Our 

 old friend. Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile. Ala., informs us that he has been 

 much i:>estered by what he caUs a new fly. which has appeared this year 

 in vast numbers in Mobile, and from his description we have no doubt 

 that the fly is the one in question. Eeports have come to us from quite 

 a number of places in the north. Mr. Fletcher and Dr. Bethune. as 

 apx^ears in the minutes of the Association of Economic Entomologists, 

 report it at various iflaces in Canada, and in addition to the localities 

 mentioned on page 49 of the previous number, and we have received 

 specimens from Eort Plain and Vpper Jay. X. Y.. Fairfield. Iowa, Har- 

 ris County. Tex., and Brandon. Tt. The extremely rapid spread of this 



