Historic, archived document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. se “BuLLeTIN NG, -20—New See ey gf ou: S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, "DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY. fe 222) PROCEEDINGS hi — ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OY THE > ——ASSOCTATION OF RCONOMIC ENTOMOLOGISTS. ‘ WASHINGTON: (GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, £3.99, BULLETIN No. 20—NEw SERIES. DS DEER IMENT OF AGRICULTURE. DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY. PROCEEDINGS HLEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMIC EXTOMOLOGISTS. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. SOF DEPIER OF TiN Shier U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY, Washington, D. C., October 2, 1899. Str: I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of the proceedings of the eleventh annual meeting of the Association of Economic Entomologists, which was held at Columbus, Ohio, August 18 and 19,1899. From the fact that the papers presented at the meet- ings of this association are always of the greatest economic impor- tance, the Department has hitherto published the secretary’s reports as bulletins of this division. I therefore recommend the publication of the present report as Bulletin No. 20, new series. Respectfully, L. O. HOWARD, Entomologist. Hon. JAMES WILSON, Secretary of Agriculture. 2 CONE NTS: ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLO- oe GUISES eget epee eee ear ieee ye gee a ese | RU seen AGS ae 5 The Laisser-faire Philosophy Applied to the Insect Problem. C. L. Marlatt... 5 A Remedy for Gadflies: Porchinski’s Recent Discovery in Russia, with SomerAmerican Observations =<: .--.-...-----+2-6: ==--<- L. O. Howard. . 24 The Present Status of the Caprifig Experiments in California..........-. L. O. Howard... 28 The Original Home of the San Jose Scale. Z. O. Howard and C. L. Marlatt. . 36 Voluntary Entomologic Service in New York State............ 1D I 2 INDE « 39 The Emory Fumigator: A New Method for Handling Hydrocyanic Acid GasrimsOrchads s74- ys see Sct oS eee eee oe ae W.G. Johnson. - 43 insectanyaand:Ofice;Methodss-2 2. -n.- =. scstec- scine ete ae I, M. Webster - - 46 A Probable Remedy for the Cranberry Fire-worm.....--- A. H. Kirkland... 53 An Interesting Outbreak of Chinch Bug in Northern Ohio. fF’. M. Webster -. 55 Some Insects of the Year in Georgia.......--..----.---- A. L. Quaintance. . 56 INOtesrofbhesvear tore News VOL Kaine = oa ois Heo os owe e coe oe one ee H. P. Felt. 60 Miscellaneous Entomological Notes ......-.--...-.---.---- W. G. Johnson. . 62 Insects of the Year in Ohio. .... as 1 ee I, M. Webster and C. W. Mally-. 68 ~Temperature Control of Scale Insects. .-.....-........-.-- C. L. Marlatt.. 73 An Account of Aspidiotus ostrewformis (illustrated) .-....-.- C. L. Marlatt. . 76 Fatal Temperature for Some Coccids in Georgia..........-.. W. M. Scott. - 82 The Destruction of Hairy Caterpillars by Birds....-..---- i. H. Forbush. - 85 The Destructive Pea Louse: A New and Important Economic Species of the GonussNectarophora seen 2 ts seas ans oes sie sereecieoto W.G. Johnson. .- 94 The Stalk Worm: A New Enemy to Young Tobacco .--.-.-. W.G. Johnson. - 99 An Improvement in the Manufacture of Arsenate of Lead. A. H. Kirkland.. 102 Recent Work against the Gipsy Moth................--.-. E. H. Forbush... 104 AsWestruchivetan-bark Beetle — 2-22)... set 222 3 coe} eee A..F. Burgess. *. 107 List of the members of the Association of Economic Entomologists...--. 110 ti a 5 ae ‘ whl 3 9 OTA! A ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGISTS. MORNING SESSION, FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1899. The Association met in room 4, Biological Hall, Ohio State Univer. sity, Columbus, Ohio, at 10 a. m., August 18, 1899. The following members were in Plnaanes at the sessions: President C. L. Marlatt, Washington, D. C.; Secretary A. H. Kirk- land, Malden, Mass.; EH. P. Felt, Albany, N. Y.; E. H.-Forbush, Mal- den, Mass.; A. D. Hopkins, Morgantown, W. Va.; L. O. Howard, Washington, D. C.; W.G. Johnson, College Park, Md.; C. W. Mally, Wooster, Ohio; Herbert Osborn, Columbus, Ohio; R. H. Pettit, Agri- cultural College, Mich.; A. L. Quaintance, Experiment, Ga.; F. W. Rane, Durham, N. H.; William Saunders, Ottawa, Canada; W. M. Scott, Atlanta, Ga.; F. M. Webster, Wooster, Ohio. The average attendance was increased to about twenty-five by the presence of a number of visitors, prominent among whom were: Dr. W. J. Beal, Agricultural College, Mich.; Prof. L. C. Corbett, Morgantown, W. vee Dr. W. H. Hale, Sania saa NYS Dre aD: Halstead, New Feareeick NS Jes erOr VV. A ieNernan! Columbus, Ohio; Prof. W. R. Lazenby, Columbus, Ohio; Mr. R. C. Osburn, Colum- bus, Ohio, and others. After calling the Association to order, the President delivered the annual address, which follows: THE LAISSER-FAIRE PHILOSOPHY APPLIED TO THE INSECT PROBLEM. By C. L. Maruattr, Washington, D. C. The last few years have given practical demonstration of the possi- bilities in applied entomology, and the subject is now being put toa more general and thorough test perhaps than ever before. The incit- ing cause has been, and is, the San Jose scale, which has aroused the interest and attention not only of entomologists, but of the general public throughout the world, more than any other insect problem which has arisen since the pecinnane of history. Never before have fears been created over so much of the earth’s surface about a single 4 9) 6 insect, and never has so much and diversified national legislation on an insect matter resulted. At no previous time also have more earnest and widespread efforts been made to prevent the spread of an insect pest or to exterminate it where it had secured a foothold. What has all this excitement, agitation, and work demonstrated? Have we actually prevented the further spread of this scale insect? Have we accomplished by our artificial efforts in any degree its exter- mination? In other words, what are the practical results of the vast amount of work done and money expended ? In the same vein we may ask ourselves: Has an important insect pest ever been exterminated? Does not the locust still flourish, and is not the cankerworm still a burden? Are not all the insect plagues of our forefathers to the remotest times still with us? The commendable industry lately shown in some quarters in delving into the writings of the ancients in their reference to insect pests emphasizes the fact that many of the insects with which we contend nowadays were familiar to the very oldest writers. In our efforts to control the normal and perhaps inevitable course of nature in any particular instance, as, for example, in our attempt to prevent the further spread and effect the extermination of the San José scale and other similarly well-established introduced pests, are we not merely repeating and putting into effect the boast of the courtiers of King Canute that at his command the tide would roll back; and are we not, like that good old king, though unwittingly, giving a practical demonstration of our own impotence by having the tide of failure roll up around our bodies? In the foregoing introductory remarks the writer may seem to have aSked questions which he can not answer, and to have stated problems the solution of which he can not give. Whether this be true remains to be demonstrated, but in his present mood he feels like voicing his doubts as to the practicability of much of our present effort and indulging in heresies perhaps; but if the interrogatories are vain and the doubts unjustified, they will at least not have been harmful and may Stimulate the presentation of the real truth. The excuse, if one be required, is that opportunity, except in the case of such annual functions as the present, rarely offers for general and outside views of our special work and for philosophizing, or, perhaps, more properly, speculating, on its larger aspects. Normally one’s eyes are keenly fastened on some small field of research or practical application, and one’s whole energy is absorbed in making the most of every opportunity in whatever special investigation may be in hand, and it is not often, publicly at any rate, that one can break away from the narrower point of view and take a broad survey of world conditions as influenced by time in the abstract rather than in concrete days and years. Therefore, even at the risk of being charged with sermonizing and of thrashing old and well-worn straw, I have purposely taken a large | 7 subject as giving opportunity to introduce and speculate upon some ideas which interest me for the moment, although they may not, per- haps, be altogether novel. To explain my intention in advance, I shall make a plea, as a solution of the insect problem, for the laisser-faire policy in such large matters or continental or world concerns as seem to me to be beyond practi- cable reach by human agencies, and I shall counsel active efforts at con- trol and prevention in such smaller and more local fields as promise adequate results. In other words, I shall attempt to separate the work in applied entomology that is practicable and profitable from work that is impracticable and unprofitable, and so benefit the former by prevent- ing needless waste of effort. If one could view the earth from a sufficient distance or at an eleva- tion, as the bird sees it flying in mid-air, a condition of perfect nature would be impressed. The vegetation covering valleys and hills would seem unbroken, and all the slight abnormalities which are visible on close inspection would disappear. Only the stable conditions of a bal- anced nature would be visible. The stability, or the balance between animal and: plant life, is evidenced by the very existence of both ani- mals and plants, and in undisturbed nature a healthful condition of both plants and animals is the common and notable rule. One sees forests of sturdy, giant trees which have stood as they stand to-day for more than a thousand years. One may drive over hundreds of miles of unbroken prairies and not find a single spot without its covering of perfect sod. In other words, without multiplying illustration, it is evi- dent that, in the broad view, nature is quite capable of taking care of herself, and that plants and animals have long existed and will con- - tinue so to exist without the efforts of man to protect and save either. Much of the damage by insects which we note and herald is unusual and isolated. The occurrence of an insect in destructive numbers is witnessed, a bulletin or report is distributed, and the information thus gained is repeated in other publications for years, perhaps, while, in point of fact, the repetition of such injury may be long in coming. Even under natural conditions of virgin prairie and forest one occa- sionally notes instances of isolated damage. Professor Cockerell has ealled my attention to a notable case. The plant Atroplex canescens covers the country in unbroken square miles for vast areas in the Southwest, and normally presents a healthy, vigorous aspect, free from attacks of scale insects. In this area, however, one plant has been discovered literally covered with a scale insect, Hriococcus neglectus. Continuing the same idea, anyone who has made an effort to collect the long list of injurious insects which figure in our reports as attack- ing different cultivated plants knows that it takes many years of care- ful search to collect anywhere near a complete series, and that instances of special damage by most of the hundreds of injurious species, so called, are of very rare occurrence. 8 In the matter of control of injurious insects, I think also we are rather apt to overestimate the actual effort made. It is undoubtedly true that, as a general rule, in this country, and still more so abroad, no steps are taken by the ordinary farmer, fruit raiser, or trucker to destroy or prevent the presence of noxious insects. Yet I believe it to be true as a rule that such farmer or trucker is successful if he cultivates well, selects his varieties intelligently, and makes a careful study of the marketing of his products. Professional economic entomologists are practically limited to our own generation, but insects destructive to cultivated plants are not of recent origin, nor are the conditions which are supposed to be so favor- able to unusual multiplication of injurious species characteristic only of modern methods of culture. From the time man first began to till the soil and practice the arts of agriculture and horticulture, have special plants been grown in masses together, often two or three only, over whole provinces or countries to the exclusion of everything else, and such special cultures have been going on uninterruptedly for two or three thousand years in many places, as witness the olive orchards of southern Spain, Italy, and Syria, and the culture of the grape and the citrus fruits in different parts of the Old World. Instead of being despoiled by insects, as might be supposed in-accordance with modern ideas, the cultures cited are as successful to-day, if not more so, than at any time in the past, and in fact are often much freer from insect damage than recent plantings in newer parts of the world, and this in spite of the fact that, as a rule, nowhere are any special steps taken to control or prevent insect depredations. Coming to our own times, fruit raising is just as successful in Cali- fornia, Italy, and Spain to-day as it was before the growth of com- merce introduced into each of these countries many new insects. Not one of us, also, can recall a time when he suffered for the lack of the necessaries or the luxuries of life on account of insects. We have the San José scale, the Hessian fly, the imported cabbage worm, and fifty other pests from abroad; we have such important native pests as the Colorado potato beetle and the chinch bug; yet the production of crops particularly affected by these insects proceeds with little apparent check therefrom. Occasionally an individual will suffer severely, but as a rule it will be found that it is the result of his own neglect or ignorance, and whenever there has been an absence or scarcity of any particular vegetable, fruit, or other product of the soil, the cause as a rule has not been the fikect enemies, but some other adverse condition much more universal and fandamentale The writer grew up in the great western corn and wheat belts t the home and headquarters of the chinch bug, and the first region to be visited by the Colorado potato beetle, and early afflicted also by the Hessian fly, and yet in twenty years’ experience a farm was never known to be completely devastated by any of these pests. Two or - sre eat EE I ot 9 three times the Rocky Mountain locusts ate up every green thing, and the drought often impoverished the farmer, but the insects named above were never responsible for more than local or partial damage to a crop. In other words, the normal healthfulness and balance which we have found in wild nature applies in the long run also to nature as influenced and partly controlled by man. It is the exception, not the rule, even with cultivated plants, that the damage is overwhelming and disastrous. In taking this broader view, one is not only impressed with, but con- vinced of, the stability, permanence, and repose of nature in the long run. The course of life is even, and the necessary antitoxin is fur- nished when needed. The balance may move a little up and down, the pendulum swing more or less widely from side to side, or the line of record may be a jagged one, but the average will be the normal right line which pictures simply nature’s method. Time does not offer to consider the means by which this balance is preserved, and many of the influences at work are obscure and beyond our easy finding out. Briefly noting some of the more evident influ- ences which operate to check undue increase of insects, disease plays a very important role; also any unfavorable climatic and seasonal con- dition, as note the result of the severe winter of 1893-99, and the effect of the occasional exceptional heat of the dry summers of California and southern Spain. Probably less important than the influences just men- tioned is the action of parasitic and natural enemies, and least impor- tant of all, the puny efforts of man. From the side of the host plants the chief influences are the weeding out of the nonresistant and weaker individuals and those growing under unsuitable conditions, and the development of increased vigor and power of resistance in the stronger ones. J have endeavored to show the self-curative and self-preservative action of living organisms in the long run. On a close inspection, especially of what concerns us personally and directly, many little ills appear, not, however, especially antagonistic to the workings of the general law indicated. These in our field of applied entomology are the local abundance from time to time of this or that injurious insect. There may be an outbreak in some limited section or in spots here and there of the army worm, the Hessian fly, the chinch bug, some species or other of locust, a scale insect, or some wood borer; or we may be temporarily annoyed by a plague of fleas or ants or flies. To correct such disturbances a knowledge of the habits, life histories, natural enemies and parasites, and of remedies is desirable; and in the control or prevention of such local annoyances intelligent effort finds an imme- diate practical and satisfactory outcome. In such work also the eco- nomic entomologist finds a legitimate and serviceable field for his activities. Nevertheless, the results gained, however locally valuable, affect little if any the normal course of events in the larger sense. 10 Every now and then, however, we are brought face to face with a disturbed balance of a more general nature, the most striking examples of which are in the new insect enemies which come from time to time, and which in new situations and under strange surrounding conditions multiply excessively and assume an economic importance which for the moment obscures all older like troubles. So universally true is it that the newcomer will prove more destructive than the old familiar pests, that this is looked upon as a fixed principle, like the law of gravity. A good illustration of this is seen in the recent very valuable book by Mr. E. E. Green on the insects of Ceylon. Referring to the insects occurring on that island, he takes the position that excessive damage by an insect is a proof of its foreign origin. He says that all the troublesome insects of Ceylon are introduced species, and that not a single undoubtedly native species has attracted any notice as a pest. Out of twenty-six species of Chionaspis, for example, occurring on the island, three only are injurious, and these are introduced species. In this country our experiences have been more varied, and we probably would not go to the same extreme, but the history of insect introductions and migrations here and elsewhere certainly indicates the truth of the general principle. A good deal of the effort in applied entomology in recent years has been directed at evils of this sort, namely, to prevent the introduction of insect enemies from foreign lands, and to quickly exterminate or con- trol them where they have gained a foothold. ~ In connection with this field of work it seems to me that the proper appreciation of certain underlying principles affecting the behavior of such introduced enemies will show that we are exhibiting much more anxiety and alarm than the occasion warrants, and that we are making vain attempts to accomplish the impossible and prevent the inevitable. This belief has been impressed upon the writer by the history of the new injurious insects coming into prominence from time to time, and the patent failure of our efforts at extermination or quarantine. The underlying influences referred to seem to me not to have been sufficiently considered, and offer to my mind an explanation of the excessive fecundity and destructiveness of insects and other animals transferred to new fields. In other words, I believe there are other and more important, though perhaps more obscure, agencies at work than mere favorable climate and absence of natural enemies to account for the role played by such introduced animals. In the case of insects there are two points of view: First, from the side of the host; and second, and much the more important, from the side of the parasite. Taking up the first point of view, the plant, when confronted by a new and unfamiliar enemy, is helpless, having no fund of inherited powers of resistance directly applicable to fall back upon. The strug- gle for existence and survival of the most fit under the old and normal 11 conditions has brought about a balance in which the plant and its insect enemies exist together without notable danger to the host. The disas- trous effects to the host plant are, therefore, not due merely to the unusual increase and prolificness of the new enemy, but to the fact that the plant is confronted with an unfamiliar danger to which it for the time yields readily. The San Jose scale sometimes kills the plants which it infests, but the same plant, similarly infested with some old and familiar scale insect to which it has become wonted by long years of association, suffers comparatively little injury. Similarly, the Phyllox- era is almost kindly in its relations to native American grapes, while the unwonted European sorts soon succumb to its attacks. The normal powers of resistance to insect attack exhibited by healthy plants growing under favorable conditions is one of the most notable . phenomena of nature, and the workings of the same principle are seen in every other department of life. The explanation is doubtless both physical and chemical. The vigorous growth of the healthy plant may often smother or crush the delicate egg or young of the insect enemy, but the chief reason is unquestionably in the character of the juices and secretions of the weakened, stunted, or diseased plant, which render it more suited and especially attractive to its insect foes. From the other point of view, namely, that of the parasite or introduced plant or animal, there enters the very important effect of the new situation and new climatic and other conditions, the direct energizing -influence of which has, I believe, never been especially considered. I believe that the records fully demonstrate that the introduced plant or animal enjoys a very notable advantage from the great vital stimulus coming to it from its new climatic surroundings and conditions of life. Of necessity it is led to put forth unusual effort and to enter the strug- gle for existence with more than normal activity to overcome the dif- ficulties presented by new conditions, and as a rule this reacts to develop a more vigorous and a more fecund race. This principle is illustrated in the higher forms of life as well as in the lower. Our forefathers, coming to the New World, met hardship and adversity, and found it necessary to strive desperately for the very necessities of life. The intensity of this struggle is apparent to any- one who will look carefully into the early colonial history of this country as pictured by Bancroft, Parkman, Roosevelt, and Fiske. The very conditions, apparently unfavorable, of those early days, developed a race of stalwarts rarely equaled in later days; men and women of brain and brawn, who were possessed of a virility and force which extended well into old age and vastly in excess of that shown by the stock from which they sprang in the Old World. Families of twelve or more children were then the rule, where four or five are now considered large. The history of the world teaches nothing more plainly than that the migratory race is not only masterful and vigorous, but exceptionally 12 fecund, and rapidly peoples and possesses the invaded territory. The peace-loving and more or less effeminate race occupying the soil disap- pears or is swallowed up by or merged into the more vigorous invading stock. In the course of years or centuries the latter in turn becomes fixed to the soil, enervated by increasing wealth and luxury, and falls an easy prey to the next similar invasion. In a sense it is true that a migratory race in some degree is of picked individuals, the weak and incapable being necessarily left behind. This, however, applies only to voluntary migrations. The transportation of insects attached to their host plants to new localities is not accompanied by the same natural selection, and furthermore, even in voluntary migrations such selection of picked individuals is not very thorough, and often the entire _ Stock is involved in the movement. The true explanation is undoubtedly in the mental or nervous stimu- lus born of very necessity and struggle and war for existence, which furnishes an energizing and bracing excitement. The same principle operates.in our Own case; we appreciate the renewed zest of a fresh line of work, the bracing effect, often temporary, of a new climate, the exhilaration from the reading of a new and interesting book or indulging in a new form of attractive sport. In the vastly greater and more important struggle for existence, this mental excitement, with its accompanying brace and stimulus, is proportionately increased, and explains very largely to my mind the unusual vigor and fecundity so often witnessed in the case of introduced plants and animals. This is, however, a temporary condition, lasting only through two or three or’ at most a small number of generations, and therefore in the case of insects frequently disappearing in one or two years, and rarely lasting for any considerable period. Very soon the new pest ranks with the old ones, and is occasionally abundant only, or often assumes ‘avery secondary place. Note, in illustration, the severity of the horn fly for one season, or at most two, in each zone of territory represented by its spread inland, and many other similar cases which will occur to any of us, the most notables ones coming in my own experience being the eastward progress of the Colorado potato beetle and the purslane caterpillar. It is interesting in this connection to note briefly the explanations commonly accepted hitherto for the phenomena in question. These explanations are undoubtedly true to a degree, but seem to me entirely inadequate of themselves. I quote a paragraph from Mr. Lounsbury giving the view commonly held, not because he originated it, for it is very old, but because he has worded it recently and in brief form. He Says: The increased ravages of injurious insects in new countries result from the improved conditions under which they become placed. The relations which have existed perhaps for centuries between them and their food plants, their parasites and pre- daceous enemies, such as other insects and birds, are all suddenly broken. In their CA cae 13 importation their natural enemies, which had preserved a balance between them and the vegetable world, are all left behind, and they are free to increase and multiply without hindrance or molestation until native parasites and predaceous insects and animals acquire the habit of preying upon them. Mr. Scudder, in an admirable excursus, speaking of this continent only, explains these phenomena by that intensity which seems to characterize all life in America, and which, in so far as the human race-is concerned, marks us as a restless, hurrying, energetic, enter- prising people. In explanation of this condition Mr. Scudder cites the greater extremes with us in variation of temperature. The mean annual temperature, for example, of New York City and Frankfort is approxi- mately identical, but the summer temperature of New York is that of Rome, and the winter of St. Petersburg. Changes are also quicker from summer to winter, and our Summers are longer and have a marked preponderance of sunshine compared with the same seasons in Europe. This, according to Scudder, explains the greater virility and fecundity seen, especially in the case of animals, on this continent. In illustra- tion of this he shows that, as a rule, among all butterflies properly comparable on the two continents, that is, as to climatic situations as well as generic relationships, there is no single instance where the European butterfly has more broods than the American, and very generally the latter has one to several broods more than the former. As accounting for the comparative freedom of HKuropean agriculture ~ and horticulture from destructive attacks of insects, the argument from the standpoint of climate appeals to me strongly, and has already been urged by me in an address before the Entomological Society of Wash- ington last year. A personal examination of the conditions_convinced me that an unfavorable climate has much to do with the immunity from notable damage in Europe as compared with America. The shorter and cooler summers of middle Kurope, comparable to our fall and early winter almost, do not foster the multiplication of insects as do our longer and hotter summers; and furthermore, in Florida and in the coast region of California the effect of the longer summers is accen- tuated by another favorable condition, viz, the greater humidity as compared with the portions of Europe where the crops are similar, as, for example, Italy and Spain. A purely theoretical explanation noted, but rightly, in my judgment, not indorsed, by Dr. Howard in an annual address before Section F, American Association for the Advancement of Science, in 1897, is that the flora and fauna of America, the older continent, have become degen- erate through age and can not successfully resist competition with the more vigorous forms introduced from the younger continent of Europe. All these explanations, except the first, call for continuous action, and the more important of the conditions involved in them doubtless exert such influence on all life in the New World, but the phenomena with which we are specially concerned, namely, the extraordinary 14 increase and destructiveness of imported insects, is a temporary one, and, to my mind, is largely to be explained by the mental and nervous conditions cited at the outset, rather than by external causes. Insumming up this phase of the discussion it seems to me that while we may normally suffer rather more from insect depredations than the Old World, as a result of a more favorable climate, and while the for- eign insect enemies coming to us may assume extraordinary powers of multiplication and corresponding damage, we have, nevertheless, the satisfaction of knowing, in the case of the last at any rate, that ulti- mately, and often in a very short time, by the action of the fundamental principles noted, the more serious symptoms will disappear and our plants will acquire new powers of defense. A brief examination of the results of our efforts at control in these larger and more general concerns will, I believe, show their general impracticability, and will emphasize the wisdom of the laisser-faire or let-alone principle of action in such matters. In our opening sentences allusion was made to the strenuous efforts of the last few years in different countries to prevent the introduction of certain noxious insects by the enforcement of inspection and quarantine regulations aud in various prohibitions on the freedom of commerce. The general impossibility of excluding insects by inspection and treat- ment of introduced stock was convincingly shown by Dr. Smith in a paper read before the nineteenth annual meeting of the Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science last year in Boston, and this point of view has been very strongly impressed upon the writer from the outset. To cite anotable example: In 1890 the Department introduced some half a hundred small date-palm trees from Egypt and Algeria. These proved to be thickly infested with scale insects and were kept at the Department under surveillance and treatment for six months, being subjected some dozen times to various methods of treatment, and were ultimately distributed and planted. In spite, however, of the strenuous effort made to destroy the scale insects in question, and the apparent absolute freedom of the plants from the presence of the scale when sent out, it needed merely a year or two for the scales to develop as badly as ever. In fact, on account of the overlapping and clasping of the basal part of the leaves of the palm, it proved to be absolutely impossible to reach and exterminate the scale secreted there by any means whatsoever short of killing the plant. With this same plant also a mining insect was found, which lived deeply embedded in the thick part of the plant, absolutely beyond the reach of any gas or wash or of any possible treatment. The experience cited has been duplicated many times with introduced stock, and is not a novel one by anymeans. Take a carload of plants, consisting of thousands of trees and shrubs, such as was recently received by the Department of Agriculture from Japan; no amount of inspection, even if conducted by an assemblage of all the recognized 15 experts in this country, could discover all possible sources of conta- gion. Nor is there any method of fumigation or disinfection that is absolutely effective. We have, therefore, no means of assuring the pre- vention of the introduction of noxious insects or fungous diseases by inspection or treatment. If the principle of protection from foreign pests were followed out legitimately by all countries, it would practically stop the commerce of the world, except in mineral substances, and even then the chance of stowaways would not be avoided. Hither we must build a Chinese wall and live entirely apart from the rest of mankind, or make up our minds ultimately to be the common possessors of the evils as well as the benefits of all the world. There is another view of this phase of the problem of insect control which has latterly impressed itself upon us much more than formerly, namely, the undesirability of exciting alarm on the appearance of a new pest. A subject taken up as was the San Jose scale grows in impor- tance from week to week and as it spreads from country to country, while as a matter of fact the insect itself and the likelihood of damage may not be essentially different in kind from that to which we are sub- ject from a hundred other insects, and which attends every shipment of plants or fruit from any quarter of the world; but suspicion aroused, - restrictions on commerce and exchange follow. It seems to me, referring again to the San Jose scale, that the chief distinction between this insect and many other imported species is not that it is so much more destructive and dangerous, but that it had the bad fortune (for us) to get thoroughly established in two of the leading Eastern nurseries and to be thence distributed over a very large extent of territory in a very short space of time, so that during its first and most destructive period in the East it was brought into very general notice. It is not especially feared to-day in California, and, in fact, it is looked upon by some of the largest fruit growers—as I am informed by Professor Washburn—as having been of positive advantage, the yearly treatment of trees having necessitated a system of regular short pruning, which has greatly improved the quality of the fruit and much lessened the expense of gathering. The experience on Catawba Island, which is familiar to all of us, is another case in point, and I venture to predict that this insect will not be especially feared in the near future by our Eastern fruit growers. Aspidiotus ostreeformis, recently introduced from Europe, is liable to be just as dangerous an insect as perniciosus, and if it should be simi- larly widely distributed and equally actively exploited would doubtless assume a similar importance, but with this advantage, that coming from Europe to us there could be legitimately no restrictions on our commerce by European powers in consequence. Recently the Department was urged by an enthusiast on the subject to prepare and distribute an alarm circular or bulletin on Aspidiotus 16 articulatus, common in the West Indian Islands and in Central America and Mexico. The folly of such a course is evident when it is remembered that this scale insect has been present in tropical America for a century, if not longer, and commerce has proceeded without restriction heretofore on that account; and our. southern States, the ones most likely to suffer, have never received any damage therefrom. As a matter of fact, this scale insect gained a foothold at Key West many years ago, and perhaps in other places in the extreme South, but it has never caused any notable damage, nor, in fact, any damage worthy of reporting. Taking a radical view, one may even question whether it would not be betterin thelong run, instead of trying to keep out injurious insects, with the necessary troublesome and mischievous restrictions on commerce of all sorts, to let such matters take their own course. The result ultimately would be a stable condition, and we would not be wasting our efforts in quarantining our shores or our several States from foreign. pests, but could spend it in finding out the best methods of controlling these enemies. As a rule, plants are affected by only one injurious insect at a time, speaking more particularly of the scale insects, and it. does not really make much difference which one if we know how to control it. At any rate, I am inclined to believe that much of our effort in the line of quarantine and inspection, and restrictions on com- merce, except perhaps, for the detection and stoppage of notoriously infested stock, is wasted energy; for I believe that ultimately, in spite of all we may try to do, the principal injurious pests of cultivated plants will extend their range wherever the host plants are grown. If this be true, why make mountains out of what may after all be molehills; see horrible menace in easily-controllable enemies; exploit to the utmost simple evils, thus putting the products of a whole country under sus- picion and RAtiely restricting its commerce? This does not necessarily mean that we are to abandon all inspection of foreign stock, or to give up all quarantine regulations; nor does it mean that we are to open our doors freely to the insect “tee of all foreign countries; but it does mean that it is highly desirable to fairly count the cost and view dispassionately the limitations attending such work. The other line of effort which seems to me to be often of questionable utility is that directed toward extermination. I have already alluded to the fact that not a single notable case of extermination of an insect at all well established, has been effected by the agency of man; nor do I believe that such result will ever be accomplished. The stamping out of the Colorado potato beetle in Germany is not a case in point, because this insect never was established in the true sense, and, furthermore, it is a large and conspicuous species, limited in Germany to a single food plant grown only under cultivation. We may, it is true, by the expenditure of a large amount of money and the most earnest effort, effect a very complete checking of damage Jef and render an insect pest temporarily rare, but the moment thereis any ~ relaxation the pest will undoubtedly return and within a year or two be as firmly fixed asever. With most insect pests, the range of food plants is so great and includes so many wild plants which can not be reached that it is only a matter of time before an apparently exterminated pest reap- pears. The world is too large and insects are too small and numerous to leave any chance of extermination by our puny efforts. Moreover, when. our best methods are scrutinized, it is seen that we have no insect- icide or form of control which is absolutely perfect and sure. Our gas treatment, which is our greatest triumph, in the hands of the most care- ful expert will not kill all of the scale insects on a badly infested plant, and in California, the home of this method, it is found necessary to fumigate every two or three years. Does anyone think for a moment and at all seriously that the San Jose scale is to be exterminated, and that its dissemination is to be prevented, whatever may be the legislation, and whatever quarantine steps may be adopted or exterminative measures put in operation? Undoubtedly this scale insect will overspread North America within the possible climatic range of the species, and ultimately, and at a not far distant date, will become established in Europe despite all possible preventive efforts. I question, in fact, if it does not even now occur in . many of the botanical gardens of Europe, in most of which are growing many plants from Japan, the probable native home of this scale, and whence it has four times been received by the Department of Agriculture the present year. The same interrogatories may be made in regard to any other insect similarly securely established in our midst. The history of every important injurious insect imported into this country, or spreading from some particular section within our borders, seems to have but one lesson. In each instance is noted a natural uninterrupted extension of the invaded territory, accompanied, as a rule, by an unusual and excessive abundance of the pest during its first years, and consequent serious losses in crops attacked, and, in subsequent years, a decrease in numbers and. amount of damage until a normal condition obtains and the pest is no longer especially feared. Note, for example, the east- ward march of the Colorado potato beetle and the purslane caterpillar, the southern spread of the imported cabbage butterfly, the extension westward of the horn fly, the migration northward of the harlequin cabbage bug and the house centipede, and similarly of fifty other insects which might be mentioned. It seems to me that the things here witnessed, namely, the natural spread and migration of insects, are inevitable and largely beyond con- trol in their larger aspects. I do not believe, to repeat, that it is pos- sible to limit for long the natural spread within our own borders of introduced insects any more than it is possible to prevent the coming of foreign insects to our shores. These are world movements, the work- 7277—No. 20 2 18 ings of fundamental law, and our efforts to resist them are often ridicu- lous and wasteful of money and energy. If, therefore, we can not keep out an injurious insect, or prevent the spread of the insects within our borders, and if, more than all and as a prerequisite to the first two propositions, we can not certainly effect the extermination of a single insect, what then is our legitimate course? I shall not question anyone’s right or liberty to undertake any line of work which he may think feasible and profitable, but for my part I feel convinced that local control represents the major part of the field that offers any hope of practical results in applied entomology. By local control I mean, in the case of the San Jose scale, for example, such work as that done in California with the lime, sulphur, and salt wash, or the excellent results gained in Maryland during the last two years with hydrocyanic-acid gas, or the very successful experience with fish- oil soap on Catawba Island, or the recent demonstration of the value of erude petroleum in New Jersey. The total extermination of this scale even locally is not accomplished by any of this work, but a practical control is gained and often so perfect as to protect the treated trees for two or more years. Further than this, we may by law enforce the undertaking of some one of these or some other kind of control when- ever itis shown to be necessary. We may check the heedless send- ing out of infested nursery stock by providing perhaps for a year’s guaranty or making payment obligatory only after a year’s test has shown the freedom of the stock from scale. All these and similar forms of control of the San Jose scale are legitimate and feasible, and are included in what is meant by local work. As a basis for such local work for all injurious insects will be needed the fullest information obtainable on their life history and habits, and also the discovery of the best reinedies and preventives. Wemay have State, county, and orchard inspection, and enforce curative measures. We may assist the action of natural laws by the introduction of enemies of injurious species. With a proper appreciation of its limitations we may even adopt a system of inspection for the detection and stoppage of palpably infested stock coming into a country or State. But our main object should be to disseminate knowledge of local methods of control, make it possible for the intelligent and progressive man to protect his own crops, and cause him to realize that the failure of his neighbor to take the same course will give him so much additional profit and advantage. In concluding this address I will briefly summarize the points I have endeavored, successfully or otherwise, to demonstrate. I started out with the plea for the laisser-faire policy in the larger or world concerns, which seem beyond human reach, and urged the limitation of efforts at control and prevention to such smaller and local matters as promise practical results. In support of this point of view I have endeavored to picture the harmonious action of Nature in the long run, her abun- Ly) dant powers of self-protection or recuperation, and to indicate the equal applicability of this law to both primeval and artificial conditions, or wild nature and nature as influenced by man. I have attempted to show also the local character, when broadly viewed, of most damage from insects. I have endeavored to explain the underlying principles accounting for the excessive multiplication and resulting injury, usually temporary, characterizing new or introduced species. In further support of the laisser-faire policy, as limited above, I have pointed out the futility, in the long run, of attempting to keep out for- eign insects, or of preventing their ultimate natural spread within our borders, and have shown that these are world movements and the work- ings of fundamental law, and not to be thwarted in their final accomplish- ment by our puny efforts. Inthe same connection I have shown the great undesirability of exploiting what are probably short-lived, or at least easily controllable ills, thus unfairly putting restrictions on com- merce. In the further support of the same policy I have attempted to demonstrate the absolute futility of our attempts to exterminate pests once at all well established, and I am finally led to the inevitable con- clusion that local control as outlined above is the chief, if not almost sole, legitimate field of effort in applied entomology. A general discussion of the address followed its reading, Mr. Osborn presiding. The views expressed as recorded by the secretary and subsequentiy revised by the several participants were as follows: Mr. Osborn stated that there was much in the address with which he heartily agreed, but that he feared it might be misinterpreted in some quarters, and that some of the statements seem not to be warranted by the facts. Thereis so much difference in the habits of different insects, their mode of attack, and means for migration or dispersal, that they must be considered separately, and it seemed to him that our duty as economic entomologists is to determine these facts and urge the adop- tion of all measures which may protect our constituents in their different localities from insect invasions or ravages. Pleuro-pneumonia would not have been suppressed under a laisser-faire policy, nor the control of Texas fever achieved; and so also with smallpox or yellow fever. We could not hope for many triumphs in applied entomology if this were allowed to be our watchword or become the policy of the communities for which we labor. He believed that economic entomology had accom- plished some valuable work in some of these lines, that loss had been prevented, and that injury might often be lessened, or the spread of an insect retarded to the extent of preventing tremendous losses in certain regions. He felt certain that, in drawing a line for the application of the laisser-faire policy, many people would adopt a very different one than would be drawn by our worthy President, 20 Mr. Howard regretted the use of the term “‘/aisser-faire,” sinceits literal interpretation would not properly represent the author's position. No great problem of insect extermination had appeared until within the last few years. The work against the gipsy moth was a case in point. Here the undertaking seemed hopeless until a thorough and scientific examination of the infested region and the methods adopted showed it to be possible. In the paper referred to as read before the Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science. Dr. John B. Smith had shown that many insects escape even vigilant quarantine measures, but, not- withstanding this, cases of severe infestation are detected and destroyed. The hidden insects may slip by, but the great tide will be arrested. Even Dr. Smith admitted the effectiveness, to a certain extent, of the quarantine system, and, in regard to inspection, stated that he believed it to be a good thing, that it would make shippers more careful, and that fruit growers would probably get better and cleaner stock than received otherwise. Mr. Marlatt himself admits the advisability of the stoppage of palpably infested plants at the port of entry. So.after all. the advisability of quarantine and inspection measures seemed to be admitted on all hands, but too much must not be expected of them. The efficacy of quarantine had been well illustrated by the excellent work of Mr. Alex. Craw at San Francisco. With regard to the San Jose scale the speaker held that the warn- ings which the entomologists gave to the fruit growers and to the nurs- erymen on its first discovery in the East were perfectly justifiable, and that on the whole the alarm excited had been productive of great good. Much beneficial legislation had been enacted. and the work done against this insect by the small army of workers had greatly increased our knowledge of the action of insecticides, both upon insects and upon plants, and enlarged our ideas as to the best methods of applying. While the tone of the address may be considered to be pessimistic, and its temporary effect depressing, we must admit that it is highly original and its arguments ingenious. The broad significance of local measures and local work, as defined by Mr. Marlatt, must not be over- looked. The field of work to which he would restrict the entomologists still includes practically everything which we are doing and intend to try to accomplish. The address must be read at leisure and assimi- lated slowly. Mr. Webster called attention to the fact that while the propositions laid down in the address were less difficult of comprehension by intelli- gent people, the ignorant, the obstinate, and the lazy would gladly avail themselves of the opportunity to take refuge behind the author’s state- ments, the effect of which, distributed as they will be through the agri- cultural press, will be to promote neglect and shiftlessness regarding insect pests in general. Misconception of the address is to be feared, even among the intelligent, and for others it will be easy and disastrous. If foreign pests came to this country naturally, we should probably = SS eer 21 suffer less from their multiplication and the address would be more applicable, but they are imported by man in a wholesale manner, and, while it has been said that such importations will prove a blessing in disguise, in the case of the San Jose scale it is deeply disguised. Because efforts at quarantine have not kept out all insect pests, it is no reason why they should be abolished. We could not know whether they would fail or not. The San Francisco quarantine station, the only one we have, certainly indicates that they will afford a very great pro- tection. We do not execute our physicians because they do not cure all of their patients. Mr. Forbush showed that the practical question of exterminating or controlling insects had an optimistic as well as a pessimistic side. While the extermination of many imported insects was impossible, in other cases, where the species was handicapped by physical defects, such extermination might be possible. With the gipsy moth the female is handicapped by an inability to fly; hence the spread of the species is slow. This insect has been absolutely exterminated from hundreds of localities and from whole towns. The spread of the insect over Massa- _ chusetts and other States has been prevented. Had the laisser-faire policy been followed many States would now be suffering from this pest. Mr. Hopkins congratulated the President on his most interesting and suggestiveaddress. He believed it to be the mission of this Association to consider and thoroughly discuss just such problems as those pre- sented. A knowledge of these broad world movements and the laws which influence them for the good or harm of man would help us to successfully deal with the small local ones. He fully agreed with the President that many of these national problems were beyond the con- trol of human agencies and that the let-alone policy would, in most cases, aS applied to them, prevent a vast amount of wasted energy, time, and money. At the same time he felt that all new problems, whether great or small, should be thoroughly investigated by one or more specialists in order that it might be determined whether or not it were best to adopt the laisser-faire policy. If the economic entomolo- gist can give, from facts determined by original research, information which will lead to the prevention of great losses to a nation, state, or community, by adopting this policy, his services are none the less valuable. Mr. Johnson said he feared that the deeper meaning of the address would not dawn upon the average reader; that he had been unable to interpret its real intent; from the philosophical standpoint it was a fair production, but from the practical side it would surely be misinterpreted and lead to much confusion. He felt it would be useless for him to enter into a detailed discussion of the paper, as he could not indorse it inany way. His familiarity with the work of Mr. Craw, and his knowl- edge of existing conditions in California and the West; his personal 22 experience with economic problems in the field, and the practical results gained with hydrocyanic acid gas; and his observations on the work of the gipsy-moth committee in Massachusetts, all confirmed his belief in the good results of the strictest quarantine, local inspection, and concerted action on the part of growers; also the utility of men trained in the field rather, than in the office for handling economic problems. He insisted on the absolute certainty of the gas method for controlling dangerous injurious insects in orchards and nurseries, espe- cially the latter. He felt that the sentiment permeating the paper could be used by so-called legislative reformers to prevent State or national legislation. While he understood and appreciated portions ot the paper, he felt certain that it would tend to discourage economic workers, and that the general distribution of the paper would lead thousands of farmers to fold their arms and await a harmonious and perfect balance of nature, ignoring and ridiculing the suggestions of economic workers. Mr. Felt said that while agreeing in the main with the opinions expressed in this admirable address, the liability of. misinterpretation by careless readers led him to state that this Association could not go back, even by implication, on well-directed efforts to exclude or exter- minate certain notorious insect pests. The present laws of New York are doing much to prevent the spread of scale insects. Mr. Marlatt, in closing the discussion, said it was easy to be led by side trains of thought away from the real subject of debate. Much of the criticism by the preceding speakers illustrated this statement. In view of this misunderstanding he thought it well to recall the object and purport of the address as explained at the outset, namely, to make a plea, as a solution of the insect problem, for the laisser-faire policy in such large matters of continental or world concern as seemed to him to be beyond practicable reach by human agencies, and to counsel active efforts at control and prevention in such smaller and more local fields as promised adequate results; in other words, to attempt to separate the work in applied entomology that is deemed practicable and profit- able from work that is deemed impracticable and unprofitable, and so benefit the former by preventing needless waste of effort. He said that a misunderstanding was evident in the minds of several as to his, the speaker’s, attitude toward inspection and quarantine, but he felt sure that an examination of the portions of the address relating to this sub- ject would indicate that legitimate quarantine to check or limit as far as practicable the transmission of notoriously infested stock was dis- tinctly included in the field of useful effort. Considering the paper as a whole, he said that a broad view had been taken of the interrelations of insects and plants, and the general bal- ance of nature in this regard had been pointed out, not as an excuse for the neglect of any feasible work, but to prevent the rousing and promulgation of unnecessary and hurtful fears. An attempt had been Oe = = ates 23 made to show the impossibility of preventing in the long run the nat- ural spread of insects, the futility of attempts at extermination of well- established pests, and the folly of viewing with alarm matters that had been going on for thousands of years without very great hurt to human interests. For such matters he had urged in the broad sense, and not locally, the laisser-faire philosophy, the nature method of control, and had pointed out the successful and satisfactory character of such action in the long run, and also the temporary character of most of the ills which we have allowed unnecessarily, it seemed to him, to excite and alarm us. On the other hand, he had urged the concentration of our energies on all fields of local work which promise direct and practical results, and in no sense had counseled an abandonment of any legitimate useful effort, as was fully indicated in the latter portion of the address. In conclusion, he expressed the belief that we had of late shown too much readiness to become alarmists. He himself had been guilty as well as others, with the result that commerce with foreign countries and among ourselves is now suffering most severely. He asked the question, Has this been necessary or worth while? It seemed to him that the outcome of the Colorado-potato-beetle scare of years past indi- cated the true answer to this query. He said: Does anyone believe to-day that the potato beetle constitutes a menace to the production of the Irish potato? In point of fact, the constantly increasing range of this beetle scarcely attracts notice or comment, and yet in the early years of the eastward march of this insect, no other pest was so feared or so exploited. Foreign countries, notably Germany, as now with the San Jose scale, were terrified at the calamities with which the antic- ipated introduction of the potato pest threatened them. It is true that this beetle has not gained lodgment in Europe, but in this country it is practically everywhere, and yet the fears first aroused have abso- lutely disappeared. On the other hand, however, the discovery of the value for insecticide purposes of arsenicals which resulted from the coming of the Colorado potato beetle has saved for this country thou- sands of dollars for every dollar lost by reason of this insect. Many other important injurious insects have had a similar history in this country. The San Jose scale itself in California is a good example. As already noted in the address, it is far from being a menace to fruit culture in California to-day, and in the district where it was most feared and injurious it is now scarcely present at all, and generally for the State it has actually been a decided benefit to the fruit grower. In the Kast, also, as noted by Dr. Howard, its presence and rapid spread has greatly stimulated work in applied entomology, and this has already resulted in the discovery of new and valuable means of controlling scale insects and the improvement of old methods, so that undoubtedly, as with the potato beetle, the final outcome with the San Jose seale will witness, in the Kast as well as West, an actual betterment of conditions. 24 Following the discussion, Mr. Osborn called the attention of the association to the fact that the sessions were to be held in the rooms consecrated to the advancement of entomological knowledge by the many years of faithful service of the late Dr. Kellicott, and an invi- tation was extended to freely inspect Dr. Kellicott’s valuable and extensive collections, particularly of Odonata. The report of the treasurer was then presented and accepted, show- ing a cash balance of $8.60. Active members were elected as follows: C. 8S. Banks, Albany, N. Y., proposed by Mr. Felt. Arthur Gibson, Ottawa, Canada, proposed by Mr. Kirkland. H. P. Gould, College Park, Md., proposed by Mr. Johnson. S. J. Hunter, Lawrence, Kans., proposed by Mr. Howard. The foreign members elected were: Edward Barlow, Calcutta, India, proposed by Mr. Webster. E. E. Green, Pundaluoya, Ceylon, proposed by Mr. Howard. A. M. Lea, Hobart, Tasmania, proposed by Mr. Chittenden. J. G. O. Tepper, Adelaide, South Australia, proposed by Mr. Howard. Mr. Webster and Mr. Lazenby, on behalf of the Society for the Pro- motion of Agricultural Science, extended to the entomologists present an invitation to attend the meeting of that body. Messrs. Webster, Howard, and Johnson were appointed a committee on programmes for the following sessions and also to arrange for a joint session with the Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science. Adjourned to 2 p. m. AFTERNOON SESSION, AUGUST 78. Association met pursuant to adjournment. A committee on resolutions was appointed by the chair as follows: Messrs. Howard, Osborn, and Felt. Mr. Howard then presented the following paper: A REMEDY FOR GADFLIES: PORCHINSKI'S RECENT DISCOVERY IN RUSSIA, WITH SOME AMERICAN OBSERVATIONS. By L. O. Howarpb, Washington, D. C. Through the kindness of Dr. Peter Fireman, of the Columbian Uni- versity of Washington, D. C.,a Russian of high scientific attainments, the writer has been able to familiarize himself with numerous recent entomological articles published in the Russian language, and particu- larly those which relate to the work in economic entomology done under the Russian Government in the different provinces, all of which being published in the Russian language are inaccessible to most English- speaking workers. One of the most striking of the recent articles has been called to my attention by Dr. Fireman, who has prepared the English abstract which CS I TE | 25 will presently be given, and which treats of what is, without doubt, under certain circumstances, a practical remedy against the so-called gadflies of the family Tabanidie, a widespread group of insects com- prising nearly 1,500 species, of which about 150 occur in North America. The injury which these insects do by annoying live stock and reducing their condition, as well as by occasionally transmitting a case of anthrax or malignant pustule to human beings, is sufficiently great to make the matter of remedies of some slight importance. The bite of the adult fly in itself is rather severe and painful, but does not seem to be so poisonous as that of mosquitoes or buffalo gnats.