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LIGHT FROM THE SOCIETIES. 



A New Australian Lady-Bug. — B. M. Lelong, Secretary 

 State Board of Horticulture, of California, describes the 

 lady-bug received from Australia in April, 1892. This 

 insect preys on the cottony cushion-scale. Its attempted 

 colonization has proved successful. Experiments will 

 soon be made to determine what other species this val- 

 uable insect, whose functions equal, if not surpass, those of 

 the Vedalia cardinalis, will destroy. 



The beetle is slightly smaller than Vedalia cardinalis, 

 averaging one-eighth of an inch in length. The elytra are 

 cardinal red when the perfect beetle issues from the pupa- 

 case, afterwards changing to deep blood red. The male 

 has a black line down the center of the back, from the 



A New Australian Lady-Bug. 



thorax to the point of the abdomen, where it widens, ex- 

 tending forward along the lower edges of the elytra to 

 near the center ; here it terminates in a small blotch 

 Head and thorax are dark, and together with the elytra 

 are densly covered with microscopic light or yellowish 

 hairs. The legs are black, with the exception of the 

 tarsi, which are buff colored. The female can readily 

 be distinguished from the male, in having the central 

 black line extend only half way down the back ; the re- 

 mainder of her wing-covers are blood-red with the ex- 

 ception of two faint spots, one slightly under the center 

 of each wing-cover ; but in some specimens this is not 

 discernable. The female deposits eggs upon or near the 

 scale, so that when the larvae hatch they will find their 

 food convenient. The eggs are laid singly or in small 

 patches upon their sides, instead of being attached at the 

 end to the leaf or twig, as is the case with the twice- 

 stabbed and some other species of lady-bugs. In five 

 days they hatch into small, six-legged larvse, very much 

 resembling the young of the icerya, upon which they 

 feed. In confinement they pass through three molts and 

 the chrysalis state into perfect beetles within 31 days, but 

 in the warm orchards and sunshine, this time will 

 probably be reduced 10 days. The larvae, when full 

 grown, measure about .18 of an inch, and are thickly 

 covered with white powder or a fine down, but generally 

 have the segments well defined. When newly molted 

 they are brownish red or chocolate colored. Down each 

 side of the back are what appear to be two black lines, but 

 when examined with a good lens or microscope, a double 

 row of dots or short lines upon each segment will be 

 seen, and between the segments are large black spots, 



forming a central row to the other markings. Upoti 

 each segment, along the sides, protrude small warts, from 

 each of which grow four fine hairs ; the first two seg- 

 ments from the head of each have two extra, smaller 

 warts, with a single hair upon each. When full grown 

 the larvae seek a suitable location to go through the 

 chrysalis stage. This is generally upon a branch or dry 

 leaf, where it attaches itself, head downward, by a gummy 

 matter exuded from the abdomen. In this position it re- 

 mains a few days, when the back of the chrysalis splits 

 longitudinally, exposing the pupa, which later changes into 

 a perfect beetle. 



Fruits and Flowers for the Poor.— The admirable work 

 of charity started almost a quarter of a century ago by 

 Miss Ella E. Russell, in New York City, has in the last 

 few years spread out in so many different channels that 

 it needs generous help more than ever. The headquarters 

 of the Fruit and Flower Mission are at 104 East Twentieth 

 street. Here, on Mondays and Tuesdays in each week, 

 from 12 to 20 women interested in the work, come to 

 arrange the flowers to be sent to the different hospitals 

 and homes. Sometimes as many as 8,000 bouquets are 

 sent out at a time. The flowers come from a variety of 

 sources. Many contributors to the mission live far away. 

 The fruit-farms of Ulster county, N. Y., send generous 

 contributions. All the packages labeled for the Fruit 

 and Flower Mission are brought free of charge by the 

 Adams, United States, American, and Long Island express 

 companies. 



Many cf the stories connected with the welcome which 

 the flowers receive are more touching than an outsider 

 can realize. In a cell of the women's ward, in the peni- 

 tentiary at Blackwell's Island, not many months ago, 

 there was placed a young woman who was sentenced for 

 life. She was a beautiful girl of only 20 years, but in a 

 fit of jealous rage she had murdered her husband. For 

 weeks after she was placed in the penitentiary all she 

 would do was to rock her body back and forth, and sit with 

 her eyes fastened to the stone floor, saying over and over 

 again to herself, ' ' there is no rest, there is no rest. " One 

 of the workers for the Fruit and Flower Mission brought 

 to this girl a bunch of pure white roses, and with them a 

 message of cheer and encouragement. It was the first 

 kind notice the girl had received since she had been there. 

 The flowers brought back a happy girlish mempry. Since 

 then her life is a changed one. She is striving hard to 

 make the best of its dreariness and is patient and uncom- 

 plaining. One poor woman whose home is on the top 

 floor of a tenement, and who has been bed-ridden for a 

 score of years, is so delighted with the flowers sent her 

 from the Fruit and Flower Mission that she keeps them 

 in a little broken vase by her bed long after they have 

 faded and lost their fragrance. She won't let them be 

 taken away until fresh flowers come to take their place. 

 The crippled children in the different hospitals of the city 

 grow wild with delight over a single flower, even if it be 

 only a field-daisy. It is marvelous what cheering power 

 is folded away in the petals of a rose, and what brightness 

 it brings to the sick and weary. 



