25 
writer's sujr^estioii in 1S88 bj^ Dr. V. L. Kilbouriie at the 10xi)eriinent 
Station of the liiireau of Animal Industry, l>ennin<;s Ivoad, J)istri(ttof 
Columbia. It is quite likely, however, that the destruction of beetles 
in this way is generally accomidishod only after the e^gs have been 
laid, althou<iii upon this i)oint no definite observations have been made. 
Against tlie larva' in the ground, successful experiments have been 
made with the use of diluted kerosene emulsion on a large scale. In 
1888 such an experiment was made by Mr. W. B. Alwood, at that time 
an assistant in this office, under instructions from tlie writer, in the 
Capitol grounds at Washington. The standard emulsion, diluted 15 
times, was applied by the barrelful, and subsequently washed down 
by copious api)lications of water. The experiment was perfectly suc- 
cessful, and a full account of it will be found in Insect Life (Vol. I, 
pp. 48-50). 
Further experiments along this same line were made in 1893 in the 
1-acre celery field of Col. Wright Kives at Rives Station, Md. The 
experiments were made by IMr. Lull, but were only measurablj" success- 
ful. The application of a standard kerosene emulsion diluted in 15 
parts of water did not injure the celery and killed the larvf^ which were 
at or near the surface of the ground, but apparently did not injure in 
the least those which were 2 inches or more beneath the surface. Col- 
onel Rives was advised by the writer to take advantage of the habit 
which these larvjp seem to have of coming to the surface during a heavy 
rain storm by flooding his field (he had abundant water i^iped to the 
spot), and then when lie had brought them to the surface in this vr^y to 
treat them with the diluted kerosene emulsion. There can be no dowbt 
of the success of this method had it been tried, but for some reason it 
was not tried. Experimentally and on a small scale it was tried by Mr. 
Lull with success. Dr. J. B. Smith (16th An. Rep. K J. State Agr. Exp. 
Sta., 1895, p. 511) states that a liberal top dressing of kainit and lime 
slacked togetlier, in the proportion of 100 bushels of lime to 1 ton of 
kainit, " seems to have answered very well in some parts of ;N"ew Jersey. 
* * * It has been found satisfactory wherever used, and is cer- 
tainly worthy of a trial wherever these insects are troublesome." 
In 189G Colonel Rives, finding the larv?e more abundant than ever 
in his celery beds, tried of his own idea a modification of the bran- 
arsenic mash, a remedy which has been successful against grass- 
hoppers in California and elsewhere and against cutworms in different 
l^arts of the country. Had Colonel Rives consulted the writer before 
trying this remedy, it is safe to say that he would have been told that 
it would be absolutely inefficacious. Nevertheless, according to his 
statement, it was a jierfect success. The following statement is in his 
own words : 
''On a brick floor I put about 20 bushels of bran and spread it out 
thin. I took a watering pot and filled it full of water and put a quan- 
tity of common molasses in it, so as to color it very strongly and make 
the water very sweet. I then took this and sprinkled the bran very 
