ANNUAL REPORT OF NEW YORK 
118 
wholly obliterated, as they are liable to be in rubbed specimens of this 
beetle. 
I may here remark, that my experience has been quite different from 
that of Mr. Howell. Two trees of the honey locust, which I planted in 
my yard twenty years ago, have been the most clean and free from insect 
vermin of any of the deciduous trees in my grounds. Though the borer 
is often present in the common locusts growing around them, it has never 
jntered these trees. 
I may add that I have from T. B. Ashton, of White Creek, a specimen of 
the locust tree borer, which he tells me was bred in the black walnut, 
Juglans nigra, in Pennsylvania, where it is not uncommon for the larvm to 
occur in that tree. 
The beautiful miller in the box is the Ctenucha Latrcilliana of Kirby — a 
very rare species—which T have met with only in a single instance, on the 
last day of June, the day before the date on which Mr. H. found this. No 
particulars of its habits are yet known. The other specimens in the box 
are common species, of which I have nothing to say, which is not already 
communicated to the public. Yours truly, 
ASA FITCH. 
Berkshire County, Mass., W. Bacon. 
Hon. B. P. Johnson: 
My Beak Sir: The present winter, though the contrast is great with that 
of several years past, we do not claim is without a parallel. We have up 
to this time had but little snow; a few inches fell in November, and gave 
an apology for sleighing for nearly a week. This went off and left the 
ground without frost. Early in December we had another fall, attended 
by a high wind, which rendered it unavailable, there being drifts and bare 
ground in about equal proportions. Then came on a warm turn, and the 
snow and frost alike disappeared. January has been very mild up to this 
date, and without sleighing. On the night of the 15th, and forenoon of 
16th, we had a heavy fall of rain for any season, especially for winter. 
The streams were raised very high; the swamps appeared like lakes, and 
the highways were badly washed. The greatest degree of cold, so far, 
was 4° below 0, early in December. In January, up to date, the coldest 
morning was the 18th, mercury at 1°. With so mild and varying a tem¬ 
perature we have, of course, had much freezing and thawing, muddy and 
very rough traveling. 
Many of our farmers are lamenting this absence of snow and the power 
of frost on the land, which events may to some extent be injurious; yet 
this change from former winters will work some valuable ends — at least 
the effect will be to destroy many of the insects which, for a few years 
past, have been increasing in so formidable a ratio. I well recollect that 
early in March, 1861, during a few days of mild weather, grasshoppers 
began to make their appearance. A cold turn followed, and I do not recol¬ 
lect a year within my memory when so few grasshoppers were seen in 
summer. The warm weather alluded to probably brought them forward, 
so that the frost gave the finishing blow. Now we have days so warm in 
