15 
results are found in gardens planted in long cultivated, fully fertilized, 
and thoroughly pulverized areas. 
Moisture is an essential to the vigorous growth of the Anguillula, 
though it withstands an enormous amount of drying. 
The cysts shrivel, pregnant females become irregular in outline, ma- 
ture worms stiffen and remain indefinitely with suspended vitality, but 
resume action with the application of sufficient moisture. (Note 5.) 
A friable soil, with compact clay near the surface insuring needed 
dampness, presents then the typical environment for the Anguillula, 
and this, alas, also is regarded in this section as the most advantageous 
location for a garden or grove. 
Another very favorable location for these worms is the boggy bank 
of a lake or river, where there is a mass of wet, decaying vegetation. 
EXPERIMENTS. 
A series of experiments, under the direction of the Entomologist of 
the United States Agricultural Department, was begun in February, 
1888, to determine the migration and life history of the Anguillula, as 
well as to investigate the effect of various insecticides. That these are 
not complete and conclusive, is owing to the extreme difficulty of trac- 
ing any individual worm b3" reason of its size and its surroundings. 
A quantity of both ordinary sandy soil and clay was heated several 
hours to a temperature of 400° F. 
A number of 6-inch earthen pots were also subjected to the same 
heat. The earth and the pots were tested for living Auguillulie and 
found sterile. 
(1) Four sterile pots with, yon cubic foot of sterile soil in each pot. 
(2) Same as No. 1, using sterile clay instead of surface soil. 
(3) As No. 1, using yellow subsoil from infected locations. 
(4) As No. 3, using clay subsoil from infected locations. 
(5) As No. 1, using infected surface soil from infected locations. 
In each pot were planted four seeds of the Cow-pea (Dolichos), selected 
because of its ease in germinating and great susceptibility to the An- 
guillula. 
All came up within the week and grew fairly well ; at the end of each 
week one plant was removed and the roots examined. 
In Kos. 1 and 2 no knots were visible at any stage of growth aud the 
last plant grew to maturity. 
In Kos. 3 and 4 the plants were but slightly affected, and at the end 
of the fourth week each remaining plaut had made a fair growth, de- 
spite the terminal roots were becoming enlarged. 
In No. 5 half the plants died before the appearance of the third leaf, 
and the remainder made a sickly, feeble growth. The roots were badly 
knotted, decay in every case appearing at the terminal ends of the root- 
lets, which turned brown and dropped off at the slightest touch. 
I repeated this series of experiments, using small seedling peach trees 
in place of the cow-peas. The results were similar — the trees in Nos. 1 
