320 
in  1904  again  very  properly  proposed  the  natural  as  the  best 
means  to  be  tried,  and  his  proposition  carried.  The  Federal  gov- 
ernment appropriated  $6,000  for  this  work  and  the  State  of, 
Massachusetts  $30,000  for  three  years,  while  for  1908  Kirkland 
asked  $15,000  additional  for  this  work. 
Prof.  Howard  during  three  succeeding  years,  1905-1907,  went 
to  Europe  and  visited  France,  Belgium,  Germany,  Switzerland, 
Italy,  Austria  and  Russia  to  find  voluntary  or  paid  correspondents 
who  would  undertake  to  send  to  Boston  eggs,  larvae  and  chrysa- 
lids of  the  two  Lepidoptera  under  discussion.  He  also  sent  Prof. 
Kincaid  every  year  since  1906  to  Japan  to  collect  there  and  send  to 
Boston  the  same  material.  In  the  meantime  there  was  organized 
near  Boston  a laboratory  with  a well  fitted  personel  and  a full 
equipment  of  cages  of  the  largest  dimension  capable  of  holding 
trees  four  to  five  meters  high,  and  small  ones  for  the  laboratory, 
in  order  to  dispose  of  all  that  would  be  sent  by  correspondents 
and  each  order  of  parasites  was  entrusted  to  the  special  care  of  an 
assistant  helped  by  another  person  in  case  of  need. 
The  result  of  the  travels  of  Prof.  L.  O.  Howard  was  the  sending 
every  year,  from  all  the  countries  visited  of  large  quantities  of 
packages  containing  eggs,  larva  and  chrysalids  of  Lymantria  and 
Euproctis.  In  1908,  in  order  to  shorten  the  voyage  from  Europe 
to  Boston,  all  material  collected  in  Europe  was  sent  to  Rennes  in 
France  from  there  directly  to  Havre  and  thence  to  Boston. 
From  Japan  Prof.  Kincaid  sent  also  large  quantities  of  material. 
On  arrival  in  Boston  the  packages  are  taken  to  the  laboratory, 
without  having  to  pass  the  customs  inspector,  this  having  been 
arranged  by  the  government,  and  there  opened  in  a completely 
enclosed  space  to  prevent  the  escape  of  possible  secondary  para- 
sites. The  material  is  then  placed  in  cages  or  boxes  for  develop- 
ing the  insects.  These  cages  are  provided  in  front  with  many 
openings  in  which  glass  vials  are  fitted  so  that  the  parasites 
hatched  in  these  boxes  enter  the  tubes,  attracted  by  the  light,  and 
may  so  be  easily  observed  and  liberated  in  other  boxes  prepared, 
for  rearing  primary  parasites  or  be  destroyed. 
When  in  July,  1908,  I visited  the  laboratory  I observed  with 
the  greatest  interest  all  the  particular  methods  followed  in  the 
breeding  among  which  at  that  time  that  of  Caiosoma  sycophanta 
was  in  full  progress.  I also  saw  many  other  parasites,  Hymenop- 
tera  and  Diptera,  which  had  been  obtained  from  European  and 
Japanese  material. 
According  to  a table  already  published  by  Howard,  the  species 
of  parasites  introduced  in  America  up  to  1908  were  fifty-seven, 
five  of  which  were  Coleoptera,  twenty-three  Hymenoptera  and 
twenty-nine  Diptera. 
How  many  of  them  have  been  acclimated  is  not  yet  known  with 
certainty  except  three  species:  Caiosoma  sycophanta,  Apantelcs 
and  Pteromalns ; but  it  is  very  likely  that  the  same  is  true  of  sev  - 
eral others. 
