FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
37 
Mr. Boggs—The discussion in regard 
to insects reminds me of an experience 
I had a year or so' agO' with grasshoppers. 
It is well known that the grasshopper or 
locust in numbers is very voracious and 
on occasions he will attack a fruit tree as 
quickly as he will grass. Finding rnyself 
menaced by grasshoppers in such numbers 
as to cause some alarm, I wrote to Wash¬ 
ington for a culture which had been ex¬ 
perimented with for the extermination 
of the hopper. Receiving the same, I 
took an old darkey out with me tO' catch 
some of the hoppers, dip them and let 
them go on this way of self-destruction, 
as well as that of their ilk. After this per¬ 
formance was over, and we had dipped 
I suppose some 200 hoppers, I noticed 
the darkey in deej) meditation. Finally 
he said tO' me: 
“Boss, is yer after killing dem hop- 
pers ? 
I assured him that was the desired end, 
he then said: 
“Well, boss, why didn’t yer mash dem 
we kotched instead of dippin em and turn¬ 
in’ ’em loose? (Laughter.) 
I was never annoyed to such great 
extent after the experiment, and think it 
was of some benefit. I am informed that 
the Department at Washington has several 
cultures and that this was not what is con¬ 
sidered by the department the best. I do' 
not think the experiments, however, have 
proved entirely satisfactory, though to 
some degree helpful. I will here also say 
that the Department of Agriculture is also 
extensively engaged in the study of insect 
extermination by fungus. These fungus 
experiments have proved very satisfactory 
in a great many instances. While it is not 
claimed for the fungus process that it is 
a total eradicator or exterminator, it has 
proved to be of positive benefit. 
Mr. McCarty—have followed the ex¬ 
perimentation reports of the fungus pro¬ 
cess of extermination of insects for several 
years with a great deal of interest, and I 
am always glad to hear anything concern¬ 
ing it. It seems to me that it has already 
proven to be of great assistance, and I 
trust scientific research and experiment 
will further demonstrate its value as 
against spraying, which is always ac¬ 
companied with more or less deleterious 
effects, unless the utmost precaution is ob¬ 
served and followed. I believe there are 
many instances in which great harm has 
been done by ill advised spraying, which 
occurs both ways, sometimes through the 
strength and character of the solution, 
as well as the age and condition of the tree 
and fruit at times of application. 
Mr. Hampton—I have been very much 
interested in these discussions upon insect 
extermination and especially with refer¬ 
ence to the cotton stainer. I first met the 
cotton Stainer in 1897 and for the past 
several years I have seen him occasionally. 
In numbers he is voracious and devastat¬ 
ing, he is a sucker, and usually when you 
find him you have got to do something so 
quick that he has gotten through with his 
business before you get your solution 
mixed. I have never been able to find 
anything to kill him, and my previous ef¬ 
forts to get a preparation which would kill 
him were ineffectual for the reason that 
not knowing anything myself that would 
kill him off, I had to write to some one 
for information, and by the time I could 
get a reply to my inquiry he had finished 
up his business and gone. I am sure the 
society is much indebted to Dr. Richardson 
for his experiment in this direction and 
that they will profit by it should this pest 
show up upon their premises. 
Mr. Hart—I do not think sufficient at- 
