4 fee 
finer soil particles through a sieve, H. C. Donohoe devised a type of 
Sifter for handling dry soil," the report continues. "As the operator 
pulverizes the soil by hand on to the sieve he keeps the sieve in motion 
with a foot treadle. An advantage of the sifter lies in its suitabil-— 
ity for use in orchards where water is not available for washing. Its 
use avoids carrying soil samples to the laboratory and there is advan— 
tage, also, in the more detailed information obtained when insects are 
Separated at the site, immediately after soil samples are taken." 
Notes on pea weevils.—-Tom Brindley, Moscow, Idaho, reports that 
"On examination (in April) of the cracks and bark in the posts about four 
only ll, or 1.9 percent, were alive. Seventy-eight weevils were found 
in the bark of ponderosa pines near these same fields in 3 hours of 
digging and 14, or 17.9 percent, of the weevils were alive. Prac— 
tically all of the weevils that hibernated under the bark of this tree 
during the preceding winter survived. No weevils have been found as 
yet this season beneath the debris about the edge of the pea fields. 
"= * none of the weevils (in 71 small hibernation cages sent to dif- 
ferent localities in Idaho) survived when the temperature dropped to 
-6° F. * * * Six percent of the weevils in the peas in the pods and 
17 percent in shelled peas in the bags from the 1931 crop were still 
alive." 
FRUIT AND SHADE TREE INSECTS 
Poison—molasses sprays for Mediterranean fruit fly.--O. C. Mc- 
Bride, Honolulu, Hawaii, reports on fruit fly baits as follows: "Adults 
show a slight preference for the aged moist-molasses spray over the 
freshly made material. Also, the efficiency of the two sprays is in 
favor of the aged moist spray. The copper sulphate-molasses (2 to 50) 
Spray is more toxic to the fruit flies than the copper carbonate (2 
to 50) spray. Attractants added to the molasses spray increase feed— 
ing and decrease the time for complete kill. Geraniol—-ammonia, 0.1 
percent concentration, and citronella, 0.1 percent, decrease the time 
for complete kill approximately 25 percent. No measurable value was 
obtained with water extract of papaya pulp, papaya juice, orange juice, 
or tangerine juice. Alcohol extract, however, decreased the time for 
complete kill by 8 to 15 percent. Amyl acetate apparently has no value 
in increasing the rate of kill, but the results with ethyl butyrate are 
more promising. Cage toxicity studies with nicotine sulphate gave more 
effective results than were obtainable under open, or field, conditions." 
Orchard control of spittle bug.--Howard Baker, Shreveport, La., 
reports that a moderately heavy infestation of Clastoptera obtusa Say 
in an orchard at Lafayette, La., was taken advantage of to test con- 
trol measures. On two dates series were run against the nymphs with 
nicotine sulphate in various combinations with calcium arsenate, Bor- 
deaux mixture, and potash fish oil soap. The results indicated that 
