88 
upon the subject, to the general effect that sterilization with steam 
is a satisfactory method of ridding the soil of many insect pests, 
as well as of nematodes, slugs, etc. 
The most practical and economical method with which I am 
acquainted is that used by Mr. J. F. Ammann, of Edwardsville, 
Ill. His sterilizing bin, made of rough boards, is 2 feet high, 
10 feet wide, and 20 feet long. To sterilize soil for rose houses 
Mr. Ammann first puts in 9 inches of earth, then 3 inches of well- 
rotted manure, and on top of this a sprinkling of bone-meal. Five 
“runs" of old perforated 2-inch pipes are then laid and connected 
with the steam pipes. On these, again, are placed 9 inches of 
earth, 3 inches of manure, and a thin covering of bone-meal. The 
bone-meal and manure are of course unnecessary to the process of 
sterilization. A light layer of earth, sufficient to cover the bone- 
meal, is added, and a potato is buried in the dirt at each end and 
another in the center. The bin is then covered with a tarpaulin, 
and 80 pounds of steam turned into the pipes for about an hour 
and a half, or until the potatoes are well cooked. Mr. Ammann 
usually sterilizes his soil in the evening, and transfers it to the 
benches the next morning, when it is ready for planting. 
The Southern Fern-Cutworm 
Caliopistria floridensis Guen.* 
(Eriopus floridensis) 
The moth of this cutworm was first described by Guenee in 
1852 as Brio pus floridensis t, from a single male collected in Flor¬ 
ida. So far as I am aware, there has been, heretofore, no sub¬ 
sequent record of its collectiont. The destructive larva was first 
brought to my attention in fern houses in Chicago in the fall of 
1907. Since then it has been found seriously .damaging ferns in 
several other greenhouses in Chicago, and in a large fern house 
in Illinois, outside of Chicago. 
Nature and Extent of Injury. —The larva (Fig. 3) is a vora¬ 
cious feeder, eating not only the young and tender leaves but often 
the older ones as well, and sometimes even the midribs. Several 
larva? on a plant may completely strip it of foliage in a few days. 
Ordinarily the fern is disfigured, and growth prevented. At pres- 
*Determined by Dr. H. G. Dyar. 
+“Histoire Naturelle des Tnsectes; Species General des Lepidopteres. par 
MM. Boisduval et Guenee. Tome VI. Noctuelites, par A. Guenee, Tome II, 
pp. 292-293. Paris. 1852. 
tSince the above was written the Bureau of Entomology has reported 
this insect as damaging ferns in greenhouses in Washington. D. C. (See 
“Principal Injurious Insects of 1908,” U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook for 1908, 
p. 578. 1909.) 
