414 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OP AGRICULTURE. 



damage done to it by frost during the past winter, the dead branches 

 being conspicuous. 



Examinations for effects of the cold temperature on Coccid eggs, on 

 the trees, show that the vitality of the tree and that of the eggs of 

 these insects yield to nearly the same temperature in a still atmosphere. 



On branches where the outer ends are quite dead, and the part next 

 the tree living, I find on the living part living coccid eggs. 



One thing of importance I have noticed to be invariable — where the 

 effect of the cold was enough to nearly kill the branches, if any one of 

 them was infested by Coccids it was killed completely. Several in- 

 stances in which on the same trees uninfested branches of large size are 

 quite dead, examination shows that the Coccids had done, apparently, 

 but little damage to some of these dead branches. In numerous cases 

 where the trees were badly infested the branches are killed back to the 

 trunk of the tree. 



Kavages of Grain Weevils in Florida (probably Galandra 

 oryzceL.). — On April 18, 1884, Mr. Joseph Voyle, of Gainesville, Fla., 

 sent notes of observations made in a part of Alachua County, Florida, not 

 accessible by railroads, where the old methods of farming prevail, on 

 the variations of weevil damage in different corn-cribs, and the results 

 of experiments made for reducing the damage done to corn by weevils. 

 In this climate the work of the weevils is very rapidly done. Mr. 

 Voyle's conclusions from his observations and experiments are that the 

 corn should be sorted, the ears with long shucks for keeping, those 

 with exposed or but thinly covered tips to be placed for first use ; that, 

 to keep well, the whole shuck should be gathered, not slip-shucked ; 

 that it should be packed away when the shucks are pliable — on a wet 

 day, for instance j and that the doubling of the shuck back over the tip 

 of the ear and placing each ear tip downwards is an important surety 

 of success. 



Fuller^s Rose-beetle (Aramigus fulleri Horn). — On November 30, 

 1883, Mr. 0. W. Minot, of Worcester, Mass., sent specimens of Arami- 

 gus fulleri found in his green-house. The favorite plant of this beetle 

 was the Azalea, but it was also found on the Cissus. During the mid- 

 dle of the day the beetles perched as high as they could get, and hid as 

 soon as they were disturbed in the least. They fed on the new shoots 

 and tender leaves, and when a plant was allowed to stand alone they 

 trimmed off the new shoots as fast as these shoots appeared. They dis- 

 appeared about the first of January, and a new brood came out in the 

 spring. Mr. Minot fed them on leaves of the " inch plant," in confine- 

 ment, and they seemed to like these leaves. This insect was treated 

 at length in our report as Entomologist to this Department for the year 

 1878. 



The Blood-sucking Conorhinus (Conorhinus sanguisuga Lee). — 

 The following letter from Prof. J. G. Lemmon, of Oakland, Cal., is so 

 interesting that we give it entire. • The species proved to be that here 

 indicated: 



Herewith I send you a specimen — the only one now in my possession — of a monster 

 blood-drawer, of the bug family of Hemiptera. We met with him, or rather he forced 

 himself upon our acquaintance, with a dozen other insect annoyances, while we were 

 botanizing the Santa Catalina Mountains of Arizona, in August last, and were com- 

 pelled to pass a few nights in a small rock-lined cave on the southern slope. 



We had accomplished a perilous exploration of a wonderful ravine, under a burn- 

 ing tropical sun, menaced on the way by eight large rattlesnakes of five different 

 species; had killed several large, yellow, swift-running centipedes, had uncovered 

 Irom the loose rocks a dozen scorpions, in the mean time fighting swarms of gnats that 



