Report of the Entomologist and Botanist

SB SMITH:
18 | ty
.C397 Oy [ike an

ENT

| DI ISION OF -ENTOMO

ND. BOTANY —

FOR THE

| OTTAWA.
OVERNMENT PRINTING | BUREAU.

AG
est7 AUTHOR’S EDITION

ENT F HOM ANNUAL REPORT oY EXPERIMENTAL FARMS Fk Tit VAR 10089

CANADA

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM

Canrdoa,

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY
AND BOTANY/

BY THE DIRECTOR, DR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS, C.M.G.

FOR THE

YEAR ENDING MARCH 81

1909

OTTAWA
GOVERNMENT PRINTING BUREAU

1910
6669—2

Entomological and Botanical Divi-
sion—Report of the.. .. ...
Agrotis ypsilon.. :
APRA OLELES VSI nie) o.e'olot s
Apiary..
season of 1908- 9.
Apple Leaf-hopper..
remedies for.. .
Apple Maggot.. .. .
remedies for.
Blissus ieeapterile
Brown-tail Moth in Shipments of Nae
sery Stock from France..
Nursery Stock examined, for
(0 é
Account of, in er ica. ; :
Hxperiments with iepioeyaaie ‘nett
gas, to kill the larve of.. .. .
Cabbage and Radish Root Maresta
Cankerworms.. : 3
remedies for.. . S
Carpocapsa pomonella..
Cecidomyia legunvinicola.. :
Cereal and other Field ia
insects injurious to.. ..
Chief Injurious Insects ae "1908...
Chinch Bug.. SAE
remedies for.. .. .
Clover-seed Midge..
remedy for..
Codling Moth.. ..
remedies for..
Experiment in
PaO OL va ois: Mere k's
Corn-seed Maggot.. .
Cutworms.. . ;
Dark-sided..
Glassy...
Greasy.. .
Red-backed..
remedy for.. ge
Dark-sided Cutworm.. .. ..
Destructive Pea Aphis.. .
remedies for..
Donations to collections of inisseta, wie
plamtsse) 2... =
Empoasca mali..».. ..
Eriophyes pyri.. oe
Euproctis chrysorrhea..

este

:
banding trees for

Entomological and Botanical Divi-

sion—Report of the—Con.
Experiments with hydrocyanic acid

gas to kill the larve of the Brown-

tail Moth.. :

Fletcher, Dr.

Fruits, Insects Injurious to..

Gibson, Arthur—Circular to
nuserymen 7e€ Brown-tail Moth..
Report of, re inspection of nursery

stock. . ;
Account of the Browns tail “Moth in
Ameriea..
Experiments ON hydrocwente naa
gas to kill the larve of the Brown-
tail Moth..
Chief Injurious iriseobe sae 1908...
Glassv Cutworm..
Grain Aphis.. ;
Gray, D.D., report ‘nee
Greasy Cutworm.. ..
Hadena devastatrix.. .. ‘e
Hemerocampa leucostigma..
Mlessiains cE vices sischs sig eatowehtots
Hop Flea Beetle...
PeMVEdeSetOTe, « a\sit ach fa
Wydrocyanic acid gas,
with, to kill the larve
Brown-tail Moth..

Insects injurious to Cereal ae vee
Field Crops..

Insects injurious to Boots: and eget
tables.. F

Insects Injurious om Pea:

Isosoma tritici.. 3

Joint Worm, Wheat..

Macrosiphum granaria..

Mayetiola destructor..

Megorisnius JLELERert. ex. mais a eeelne

Nectarophora pisi.. ..

Notolophus antiqua.. .. ..

Onion Root Maggot... .. ..

Paragrotis messoria.. .

Paragrotis ochrogaster.. .

Pear-leaf Blister Mite.. ..
remedy for..

Phorbia brassiee.. 3...

Phorbia ceparum.. .. .. ..

James—Notice of death

experiments
of the

INDEX

Page. ‘ Pace.

Entomological and Botanical Divi- Entomological and Botanical Divi-

sion—Report of the—Con. sion—Report of the—Con.

Phorbia fusiceps.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 58 | Saunders, Dr. W.—Notice of death of
OME MND Orn ert), oY nice ai emutelan aie dere ee Oe Dr. James Fletcher... .. .. 37

Psyiliodes Sunetitnta. AS RINT ne R Cene Oy Circulars to nurserymen re Brew
Red-backed Cutworm.. .. .. .. .. .. 55 Gail Moth sensrityas wacneint Ge AO =4al
Rhagoletis pomonella.. .. .. .. .. .. 60} Small White Cabbage Butterfly. ania eg dl
HiGOG MGA SEO bce re cctusrsets te. cls Sele estes we remedy for.. .. . Ss oe ee eS
Cabbage and His dicho: PPB ne Scie amet, Striped Guonmbce Boghlo.: ae Cee Ree
CRT etl IRE ee EL oe RU OR eat een ae Turnip and Cabbage Aphis.. .. .. .. 54
MOAN CUTIE aki waco, weet ist) hela he wae Turnip Wlea Beetle... 2 \oesee coe
Remedies for.. .. .. . gy tat) Wheat Joint worn)... cscs wus ee ee OL
Roots and Vegetables, Thcents: Tipunions remedies for.. .. . SRSA beeen OU
GOpe ree casi BURBS Ci RM Ne oii caf W hite-marked Muscoake ‘Motw. en as AGL
Rusty Tussock Tans A eich tor eae pat TEMES LOM... Hesdials Crea ep Neue slay ere 2 OL
TPOMEMUSS LOT css Les ne (ied, 0b wena suunod Wine WORTUS:.: (23) setelislen ve N ee itatnr set are 4 Od

9-10 EDWARD Vil. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 A. 1910 -

Jay 200) SO A acre

OF THE

DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY

BY THE DIRECTOR, DR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS, C.M.G.

It becomes my painful duty to record the death during the year of a beloved
member of our staff, a most highly esteemed fellow worker, one whose urbanity aud
kindly spirit endeared him to all. I refer to the late Dr. James Fletcher, Entomolo-
gist and Botanist to the Dominion Experimental Farms, who died, after a brief illness,
on November 8, 1908. He was born at Ashe, in the county of Kent, England, on
March 28, 1852, was educated at King’s School, Rochester, and came to Canada in
1874 to fill the position of a clerk in the Bank of British North America. After two
years he gave up his position in the bank and became an assistant in the Library of
‘Parliament at Ottawa. Here he devoted much of his spare time to the study of ento-
mology and botany, and became, as years went on, a recognized authority in each of
these branches of natural science.

Prior to the organization of the Experimental Farms, Dr. Fletcher acted as Hon-
crary Dominion Entomologist to the Department of Agriculture, and in this capacity
published two reports, the first in 1884, the second in 1885. These reports dealt
chiefly with injurious insects and the remedies for their destruction.

On July 1, 1887, Dr. Fletcher was appointed Entomologist and Botanist to the
Dominion Experimental Farms and was then transferred from the position he had
occupied in the Library of Parliament to the staff of the Farms. He was thus enabled
to devote himself entirely to natural history and his work became the great pleasure
of his life. For twenty-one years the writer was intimately associated with Dr.
Fletcher from day to day and watched the development of his work with much
interest. In his capacity of Dominion Entomologist, Dr. Fletcher studied with great
assiduity the many problems which presented themselves in reference to insect life,
such as the life histories of many injurious insects which prey on the crops of the
_farmer and by their depredations often materially lessen his profits, as well as the life
history and habits of the many parasitic species which feed on and destroy the farmer’s
enemies and thus render him substantial service. He also experimented with the
remedies proposed for the destruction of the injurious species and thus tested their
efficacy.

As Botanist, Dr. Fletcher studied the value as fodder plants of such species of
grasses and neers as van be grown successfully in the different parts of the Domin-
ion. He ascertained their value for the production of hay and recommended the most
promising of them for more general cultivation. These fodder plants were grown in

37

38 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD Vil., A. 1910

conyenient plots at the Central Experimental Farm, where they could be shown to
visitors and their points of excellence explained. He also studied the subjects of rust,
smut and such other low forms of vegetable life as are injurious to our grain crops.
Dr. Fletcher also devoted much attention to another class of enemies with which the
farmer must wage war if he is to be successful in his work; I refer to the weeds which
infest his crops. These, if allowed to multiply, crowd the useful plants he is growing,
rob them of light and air and of the moisture they need, also of much of the fertiliz-
ing material in the soil which would otherwise contribute to their growth.

In both these divisions of Dr. Fletcher’s work the field was practically unlimited,
and in preparing his Annual Reports from the large mass of material available, the
chief difficulty was to select the best and most useful.

Dr. Fletcher’s first report after his appointment on the Farm staff, that for 1887,
may be considered in its general usefulness and the variety of important topics dis-
cussed as typical of the series. This begins with an article on the insects injurious
to cereal crops, in which those afiecting wheat claim first attention, followed by those
species which injure other valuable cereals. The species destructive to hay and clover
are next considered, then the worst pests which affect field roots and potatoes. Those
insects which are destructive to the apple crop were also dealt with, followed by those
which injure the grape, raspberry, currant and strawberry. A chapter was also devoted
to some of the worst insects affecting forest trees. In all these instances the most
useful remedies for the destruction of these injurious species were dealt with.

The twenty-one Annual Reports which were written by Dr. Fletcher together with |
the excellent cuts with which the text was illustrated have been of great value to the
farmers of Canada by instructing them how to recognize their insect enemies as well
as their insect friends, and at the same time instructed them as to the most practical
measures to adopt for the destruction of the more injurious species treated of.

He also waged a constant warfare against weeds, and his reports and bulletins
containing instructions as to the best methods of destroying the different injurious
species are highly appreciated and followed by many of the most intelligent farmers
throughout the Dominion. Bulletin No. 28 of the Experimental Farm series on
Weeds, was written by Dr. Fletcher, in which one hundred and sixty-four of the
most troublesome weeds are mentioned and the best methods of destroying them. Dr.
Fletcher also prepared that beautiful illustrated work on Farm Weeds of Canada
published by the Seed Commissioner’s Branch.

Bulletins on entomo!logical and botanical subjects were prepared, either wholly or
in part, by him, of which Nos. 3, 11, 14, 19, 23, 87, 43 and 46 are examples. His last
bulletin was No. 52, Insects Injurious to Grain and Fodder Crops, Root Crops and
Vegetables. From his busy pen there appeared also, from time to time, many com-
munications to agricultural and other papers giving accounts of the occurrence of
insect pests in various parts of the Dominion and the best methods to adopt for their
destruction.

For many years past Dr. Fletcher was invited, from time to time, to give evidence
before the Select Committee on Agriculture of the House of Commons. On these
occasions he rendered mest acceptable service by bringing under the’ notice of the
committee details of some of the more important lines of work carried on by the
Division of Entomology and Botany.

During the past twenty-one years Dr. Fletcher carried on a large correspondence
with farmers in almost every part of the Dominion. He also attended farmers’ meet-
ings in all the different provinces, where, in his addresses, he conveyed, in a pleasant
and forceful manner, much valuable information to his hearers.

In his position as Entomologist he was entrusted with the management of the
federal fumigation stations where arrangvuments are made for fumigating ‘trees,
shrubs and other nursery stcek under the San José Scale Act to prevent any further

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 39

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

introduction of that terrible pest. During the past two years Dr. Fletcher was also
given the supervision of the spraying of orchards in the Indian reservations in British
Columbia, to prevent their becoming distributing points for injurious insects.

In 1885 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, in which he took
an active part, in 1886 he became a Fellow of the Linnzan Society of London, Eng.,
and in 1896 he received the degree of LL.D., Honoris causa, from Queen’s University.

Dr. Fletcher was kind and generous to all inquirers seeking information, espe-
cially to young students in entomology and botahy, freely giving them much of his’
valuable time in helping and encouraging them in their work. His was a busy life,
and the good work he has done will furnish a lasting memorial to his energy and
industry which will live long in the memories of those who have profited by his

instruction.

40 EXPERIYENTAL FARMS
9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY.

THE BROWN-TAIL MOTH IN SHIPMENTS OF NURSERY STOCK FROM
FRANCE, 1909.

Early in January, 1909, the officers of the Bureau of Horticulture of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Albany, New York, discovered nests of the living larve of the
Brown-tail Moth in nursery and seedling stocks imported from France. Mr. Geo. G.
Atwood, Chief of the Bureau of Horticulture, at once communicated this information
to the Division of Entomology and Botany of the Dominion Experimental Farms,
when the following circular was immediately prepared and sent to nurserymen and
others likely to be interested in this matter throughout Canada. Copies were also fur-
warded to newspapers and the agricultural press.

CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM,
Ortawa, January 19, 1909.

It has recently come to our knowledge through the kindness of Mr. G. G.
Atwood, Ghief of the Bureau of Horticulture of the State of New York, that
about 75 nests of the young caterpillars of the Brown-tail Moth have been found
on apple, pear and cherry seedlings, and quince stocks, recently received in New
York State from France. The nests contained living caterpillars in the usual
winter form.

The infested stock so far as examined was paeked in or near Angers, France,
and it is probable that some of the larve of this terribly destructive insect may
find their way into different parts of Canada and become established there uuless
the utmost care is taken to promptly destroy them.

This insect has already done incalculable damage to orchards and woodlands
in some of the eastern States where many hundreds of thousands of dollars have
been spent during the past ten years in the endeavour to exterminate them, with
only partial success. The Brown-tail Moth has recently been found in consider-
able numbers in parts of Nova Scotia, where constant efforts are being made to

~ destroy them. It will be a great calamity to our fruit industry were this perni-
cious insect to become established in our important fruit districts, since this would
result in a heavy annual loss.

Kindly inform me if you have or will be importing from France this season
any of the seedlings or stocks referred to, as in such case I shall be glad to advise
you as to the precautions which should be taken to prevent this pest from becom-
ing established in your nursery. In case you have facilities for fumigating
nursery stock with hydrocyanie acid gas on your premises, it would be well to
place all boxes of fruit seedlings and stock received in the fumigating chamber
for a sufficient length of time to ensure the destruction of all insect life. In case
no fumigating chamber is available the cuttings from such seedlings and stocks
should be carefully burned.

IT am mailing you with this a copy of the report of our late Entomologist,
Dr. James Fletcher, for 1906, in which you will find gcod illustrations of the
Brown-tail Moth in its different stages, including the winter nest of the young
caterpillars, the full grown larva and the male and female moths, and on pages
222 to 227 the life history and habits of this destructive species are given.

i

5094—p. 40.

me Wet

_ REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 41

- SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

I would strongly urge upon you the great importance of prompt attention to
this impending danger, and trust that you will heartily co-operate with the govern-
ment in the carrying out of such precautionary measures as it may be necessary
to establish*to overcome the threatened invasion of this formidable foe.

Yours very truly,
WILLIAM SAUNDERS,

Director, Dominion Experimental Farms.

After undoubted nests of the Brown-tail Moth had been found in shipments of
French nursery stock imported into Ontario, the following additional cireular was_
sent to nurserymen and others :—

Division oF EntomMo.Logy,
: CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL Farm,
‘ Orrawa, February 5, 1909.

NURSERYMEN—ATTENTION !
The Brown-tail Moth.

In view of the fact that a number of the winter nests of the Brown-tail Moth,
all of which contained living caterpillars, have recently been discovered. in
Ontario, in nursery seedling stock imported from France, it is extremely impor-
tant that all seedlings and stocks being brought in this season be carefully
examined in a good light to see if this very injurious insect is present in ship-
ments received. In New York State, 1,800 nests of the Brown-tail Moth have been
found within the past few weeks in cases of stock imported from France. Nests
have been found on apple, pear, plum, cherry, rose, quince, elm and Amelanchier.

As each winter nest of the Brown-tail Moth contains between two and three
hundred small caterpillars, about one-quarter of an inch in length, it can be
easily realized that the danger of this pest becoming introduced is very great
The nésts are easily seen, being whitish in colour and situated between two or
three twigs or along the main stem of the seedling.

We should feel obliged if every nurseryman who has this winter imported
seedlings, or stocks, from abroad, would at once communicate with this Division,
so that, if necessary, an inspector may ke sent to examine the stock, and this is
better done at the time the cases are opened.

The surest way to destroy the nests is to at once burn them as they are
found. All packing material in infested boxes should also be most carefully
burned, as well as the boxes, as there is danger of the small caterpillars having
left the nests and secreted themselves in the crevices of the cases. All trimmings
from stocks should also be promptly burned.

In the New England States, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been
spent in fighting the Brown-tail Moth. This insect was first introduced into
Massachusetts about the year 1890, and it is said to have been brought in on rose
bushes from Holland or France. It has now become very abundant and injurious.

It would be a great calamity if this dreaded pest established itself, in any
locality, from stock imported this season from France. It is hoped, therefore,
that all nurserymen will co-operate with the government in every way in their
power to prevent the Brown-tail Moth from being thus introduced.

The Entomological Division will be glad to receive from nurserymen, or
others, any communications on this subject, and to give any further information
desired as to the life-history of this insect and the precautionary measures which
should be adopted.
: WILLIAM SAUNDERS,

Director, Dominion Eaperimental Farms.
ARTHUR GIBSON,
Chief Assistant, Division of Entomology.

42 BXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

The nurserymen generally were keenly interested in this threatened invasion of
such an injurious pest, and co-operated with the Division in every way in their power.
They were thoroughly alive to the danger from such infested nursery stock, and were
grateful for the prompt way in which the department had undertaken the work of
inspection.

The thanks of the department are due to Mr. G. G. Atwood, Chief of the New
York State Bureau of Horticulture, who was most helpful in advising us throughout
the season of shipments of nursery stock coming into Canada through New York
State. Most of the nurserymen, too, kept the Division well advised of any shipments
they had received. As soon as advice of arrival of such stock was received, Mr.
Arthur Gibson, Chief Assistant of the Division of Entomology and Botany, was at
once sent to examine the same. In this work of inspection it was of course neces-
sary to carefully examine all the material to see if any nests of the Brown-tail Moth
were present. As a rule these nests are very conspicuous, but occasionally a very
small nest, or one which had become broken, was found. To avoid the possibility of
any of these escaping required great care.

The following list of the stock examined, and the number of nests of ¢he Brown-
tail Moth which were discovered, at each inspection, has been prepared by Mr.
Gibson :—

Date of ;
coca Sanit a Nature of Stock. Imported From. Nests Found.
Jan. 26, 27\/K. D. Smith, Winona, Ont.|150,000 fruit seedlings...|Orleans, France..... 1 nest on plum.
" 28;'C. I. ut Carpenter, Win-| 27,000 " ...|Angers id eerie No nests found.
ona, Ont.
" 28|A- G. Hull & Co., St.| 12,000 " Ace ty Tie saSeor 1 nest on pear.
Catharines, Ont.
" 29) Morris & Wellington, Font-| 35,000 " .../Orleans faa emer 14 nests, 13 on pear,
hill, Ont. 3 1 on quince.
Feb. 4|Trappist Fathers, Laj 2,000 " 3,200) Angers Wane oi ois No nests found.
Trappe, Oka, Que. ornamentals,
w 10-13)Brown Bros. Nurserymen! 10,600 " 86,000; Tr aan 1 nest on plum.
Co., Brown’s Nurseries, fruit seedlings.
mt.
J. E. McCombs, Pelham|] 13,000 " sw " ‘Dy meh re 4 nests, 3 on pear,
Corners, Ont. 1 on apple.
: Secord, Pelham} 52,000 " Rete " Tiseertonae 4 nests, 2 on pear,
Corners, Ont. 2 on apple.
K. Crow, Ridgeville,| 15,000 " Fane " Tomer eae 4 nests, 3 on pear,
Ont. 1 on apple.
J. Page, Ridgeville, Ont ..} 18,000 " are " nu. ...| 1 nest on cherry.
" 15|/K. D. Smith, Winona, Ont.|150,000 fruit seedlings. ..|Orleans ie ehets 20 nests on pear.
3,000 ornamentals.
n 20-22)Morris & Wellington, Font-| 56,000 fruit seedlings...! Tees eae No nests found.
hill, Ont. 6,985 ornamentals. |
Mar. 2)E. D. Smith, Winona, Ont.| 40,3800 fruit seedlings... " Witenhnehes 24 nests on apple.
" 3,C. F. W. Carpenter, Win-| 14,000 " see | Angers Woes we "
ona, Ont.
" 4|Morris & Weilington, Font- 600 ornamentals.....' Orleans Tie eabetosic | No nests found.
hill, Ont. |

" 17:'Brown Bros. Nurserymen)| 10,550 gooseberry bushes Hexham, England. . "
Co., Brown’s Nurseries,

Ont.
n 19, 20 " " ..| 85,000 fruit seedlings...)Angers, France..... 66 nests, 42 on pear,
2,000 ornamentals. 21 0n plum and 3
on quince.
" 22,K. D. Smith, Winona, Ont.} 53,000 fruit seedlings.. |Orleans (Tajersfenesets 17 nests on apple.
G. W. Robinson & Co.,| 6,590 assorted roses, &c.|Boskoop, Holland...| No nests found.
Hamilton, Ont.
" 23'J. A. Simmers, Toronto,|} 6,950 " ES " " nee "

—

| Ont.

‘

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 43

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

e
ee Nurseryman or
ion Consignee.

Mar. 29,30/W. O. Burgess, Queenston,
Ont.

w 30, 31)/Morris & Wellington, Font-

hill, Ont.

April = 1/K. D. Smith, Winona, Ont.

" 1-3)W. Rennie Co., Ltd., To-
ronto.
" 5|G. M. Hiil, Fruitland, Ont.

un 5, 6|/Steele, Briggs Seed Co.,
Ltd., Toronto, Ont.

" 6|C. Macdonald, Toronto...

R. Brecken, Toronto......

" 7T\state of John Stewart,
Goderich, Ont.

Jos. Tweddle, Stoney
Creek, Ont.
on 8|Connor Floral Co., Hamil-
ton, Ont.

u 14/Graham Bros., Ottawa....
» 16,17|Canadian Nursery Co.,
Pointe Claire, Que.

" 18]A. Roszel, Pelham Corners,
Ont.

" 23\J. E. McCombs, Pelham
Corners.

" 24/Steele, Briggs Seed Co.,
Ltd., Toronto.

" 26|J. W. Smith & Sons, Vine-
land, Ont.

n 27-28) Morris & Wellington, Font-

hill.
" 28!J. Wi. McCombs, Pelham
Corners.
John Dobbie,
Fails, Ont.
" 29|J. Page, Ridgeville, Ont ..

Niagara

May 3|J. EK. McCombs, Pelham

;__Corners, Ont.

W. Baker & Son, Lon-
gueuil, Que.

" 10'B. W. Secord, Pelham
Corners, Ont.

» 10,11)/Brown Bros. Nurserymen}124,7£0 assorted trees and|U ssy,

Co., Brown’s Nurseries,
Ont.

w 12, 13)Pointe Claire Nurseries,
Pointe Claire, Que.

" 14) W. C. Reid, Belleville, Ont.

" 26) W. J. Kerr, Ottawa.......

Nature of Stock. Imported From. Nests Found.

50,000 fruit seedlings...) Angers, France

10 nests, 5 on plur
(some birch). : Lc Epa

3 on pear, 1 on
apple and 1 on

uince.
60,365 asst.shrubs & trees} Orleans ine Gee o nests found.
815 " nu .|Alma Nurseries, Hol- "
land.
24,800 asst. shrubs...... Angers, Franca..... 5 nests, Lon sugar

maple 2 on rose
and 2 on sp'rea.

29,490 " No nests found.

ree Boskoop, Holland...

10,800 ” and]Orleans Tete No nests found.
ornamental shrubs

2,300 gooseberry bushes|Carlyle, England....

14,038 ornamental shrubs|Boskoop, Holland...

1,300 gooseberry and/Hexham, England. .

currant bushes.

‘ Se ponial shrubs Boskoop, Holland...

’ " are "

6,200 fruit seedlings.. |Orleans, France.
500 ornamentals.

7,225 gooseberry bushes|Hexham, England ..

10,710 assorted shrubs. ./Orleans, France. ...
24,843 " ..|Boskoop, Holland...
. .

575 " A "
37,160 " and " "
trees.
20,000 fruit seedlings...|France.............. 8 nests on pear.
250 ornamentals. .... (toms catcsers one arene No nests found.

1,250 assorted shrubs. . " a aire

12,360 ornamental shrubs|France .............

10,000 fruit seedlings...]Angers, France.... 2 nests on pear.
1 nest on Prunus

and trees. pissardi.
20,000 fruit seedlings... Tints opeksree cee aie No nests found.
24,000 ‘ bell Scot nae eames ees - :
5,250 assorted shrubs. .}Oudenbosch, Holland "
23,000 fruit seedlings.../France....... ..... "
2,250 ornamentals..... ifn aon pretence "
300 assorted roses....|Hilligorn, Holland... "
30,000 fruit seedlings.../Angers, France..... 3 nests, 1 on apple,
2 on pear.
9,500 " cists " (LS eect ones ] No nests found.
734 assorted rogses....|Orleans Nee eosae "
25,000 fruit seedlings. ..|Angers ieee 2 nests, 1 on pear

and 1 on apple.
Calvadoes,| No nests found.
shrubs. France.

9,050 " oe tt oe
874 assorted roses....|Boskoop, Holland... "

11,850 assorted treesand/Ussy, Calvadoes, "
shrubs. :
7,000 fruit seedlings... u ¥: "
1,640 assorted shrubs|France. "
and trees.
1,300 assorted shrubs. .|Leloire, France..... "

44 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

From the foregoing statement it will be seen that, in the provinces of Ontario
and Quebec, 1,503,129 plants were examined. The larger proportion of this stock was
fruit seedlings—apple, pear,:plum and cherry—either for grafting or budding. The
total number of nests of the Brown-tail Moth found in the shipments made to the
two provinces named, is 196, all on stock imported from France. Of this number, 188
were found in Ontario, and 8 in Quebec. These occurred as follows: 100 on pear, 56
on apple, 28 on plum, 5 on quince, 1 on cherry, 2 on rose, 2 on spirxa, 1 on sugar maple
and 1 on Prunus pissardi. As each nest contains from 200 to 300 small caterpillars,
it can be easily understood how the above provinees would probably have become badly
infested by this extremely pernicious insect had these nests not been discovered and
destroyed.

Shipments destined for other parts of Canada, of which advice was received, were
at once reported to the provincial officers. Those for British Columbia were reported
to Mr. Thos. Cunningham, Inspector of Fruit Pests, Vancouver, B.C., and those for
Nova Seotia to Prof. M. Cumming, Secretary for Agriculture, Truro, N.S. Mr.
Cunningham has advised us that nests of the Brown-tail Moth were found by his
department on stock imported from France, but as yet we have no complete list of
his findings. Mr. E. R. Clarke, of Annapolis, N.S., reported to the Division, that he
had found one nest on stock which he had imported from France. Prof. Cumming
stated, under date of June 14, that ‘no Brown-tail Moth nests were discovered on
imported stock officially examined this year in the province of Nova Scotia.’

At the outset of the above work, the Ontario Department of Agriculture was
notified from time to time of the finding of the nests of the Brown-tail Moth in ship-
ments of nursery stock from France coming into the province. Through the kind co-
operation of Prof. C. C. James, Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Ontario, and Mr.
P. W. Hodgetts, Director, Horticultural Branch, Mr. Harry Arnold, the San José
Seale Inspector for the township of Pelham, was instructed to assist Mr. Gibson in
examining some of the shipments received, chiefly those which came into the larger
nurseries in the above township. Mr. Arnold is a very careful worker, and his valued
help was very much appreciated. In a few instances owing to stress of other work
at Ottawa, which prevented Mr. Gibson from covering the whole ground, Mr. Arnold
examined several shipments alone. In these cases he reported that he had been most
careful in looking over the consignments.

Mr. Gibson further reports: ‘Every nurseryman or firm visited was asked
to be most careful to see that all packing (such as moss and paper) was burned as
soon as possible, also all cases in which stock had been received, particularly such im
which nests had been found. It was also pointed out that in New York State the
stock received in sueh cases was being dipped in a standard miscible oil, diluted with
ten to twenty parts of water. This was shown by experiments to be sufficient to kill
the caterpillars. As most of our nurserymen have not had any experience with these
miscible oils, they were told that the ordinary well-known kerosene emulsion, diluted
with nine parts of water, would probably answer the same purpose.’

‘ About the middle of January some of the nurserymen received shipments of fruit
seedlings from France. These arrived during a particularly mild spell of weather
and were at once heeled in, in the ground outside. When advice came from the Chief
of the Bureau of Horticulture of New York State that nests of the Brown-tail Moth
had been found in shipments from France, the ground in Ontario was frozen hard,
so it was impossible then to remove the stock which had been heeled in, to examine
it. Hence this work had to be done in spring as soon as the weather permitted. The
stock examined on the 18th, 26th, 28th (Mr. J. E. McComb’s) and 29th April, and on
3rd and 10th May, had all been heeled in, outside, with the exception of that of Mr.
B. W. Secord’s, which had been packed away in layers, with earth between. in a cool
ecllar.’

‘From the careful way in which all shipments of nursery stock were examined,
we have every reason to expect that every nest of the Brown-tail Moth present was

|
:

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 45

EESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

found. Nurserymen and others, however, should watch as far as possible this summer
all imported stock which has been planted out, and if any strange looking caterpillars
are noticed, send them at once to the Division of Entomology at Ottawa. It is im-
portant that this should be done, in case any stray caterpillars may have escaped. In
certain instances where broken nests had been found, the great danger of leaving
around any packing, of whatever kind, which had been in the case, was particularly
pointed out. If such packing were not destroyed before spring, it can very easily be
seen how some of these caterpillars might get out and establish themselves.’

In view of the widespread interest in the Brown-tail Moth in Canada at the
present time, the following account of the insect has been compiled by Mr. Arthur
Gibson, Chief Assistant, mainly from the report of the late Dr. Fletcher for 1906 :—

INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD IN AMERICA.

The Brown-tail Mcth was introduced into America about the year 1890, at
Somerville, Mass. It is said to have been brought in on nursery stock imported from
Holland or France. It was not until 1897, however, that it attracted particular atten-
tion, from its ravages upon pear trees. In Europe this insect has long been known as
a pest of fruit and shade trees; it is spoken of there as the ‘common caterpillar.’
Since its intrcduction into Massachusetts it has spread into every New England
State except Vermont. The following is reprinted from the report for 1906 of the
late Entomologist and Botanist, Dr. James Fletcher :—

Ture Brown-vat Mors In Canapa.

‘In 1902, Mr. William McIntosh, of St. John, New Brunswick, took a single male
specimen of the Brown-tail Moth (Huproctts chrysorrhea, L.) about 20 miles from St.
John, N.B. About the same time another specimen was taken by Mr. Gordon Leavitt,
at St. John; and in July of 1905, Mr. John Russell took a third specimen at Digby,
Nova Scotia. Up to the present time these have+been the only authentic records of
this much-to-be-dreaded insect having been taken in Canada. Recently, however, I
have received from Mr. C. Perry Foote, of Lakeville, Nova Scotia, one of the winter
nests of the Brown-tail Moth, filled with the liviug caterpillars, thus proving that this
insect has established itself at one place at least in Canada.

‘It was to be expected that the moths might be found here at any time, having
been brought up direct from Massachusetts on one of the steamboats which ply regu-
larly between Boston and the Maritime Provinces; but this would not necessarily
prove that the insect had established itself. The occurrence of the young caterpillars,
however, is a more serious matter, and shows that energetic measures are necessary
at once to suppress and possibly to wipe out this unwelcome visitor before it becomes
more widespread. The recognition of the winter nests is an easy matter, and this is
the time of year to attend to their destruction. The Brown-tail Moth passes the
winter as a very young caterpillar, and large numbers of these form colonies at the
tips of the branches of the trees upon which they have been feeding the previous sum-
mer. The eggs are laid during July, and, on hatching, the caterpilars feed for some
time on the upper surface of the leaves. As winter approaches, they crawl to the tip
of a branch and bind together a few leaves so as to make a tent. This is securely
closed up with silk, and the caterpillars remain dormant all through the winter and
until the buds burst the following spring. These winter nests are easily recognized.
from being almost invariably at the tips of the branches, and from being at this time
of the year the only nests which contain colonies of living caterpillars. These latter
are black, but covered with rusty hairs, and on the 10th and 11th segments towards
the end of the body there are two very conspicuous, reddish-yellow, cushion-like tuber-
cles, one on each segment, which the caterpillars can elevate or depress at pleasure.

48 EXPERIM@NTAL FARMS -

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910
A DANGEROUS BNEMY.

‘With the exception of the San José Scale, there are no two insects which have
attracted so much public attention, nor with regard to whieh so much woney has been
spent in America by the State and Federal Governments of the United States, as the
Gypsy Moth and the Brown-tail Moth. Both of these are pests introduced into
America from Europe—the Gypsy Moth about 1869, and the Brown-tail Moth some-
where about 1890. Millions of dollars have now been spent on fighting the Gypsy
Moth and the Brown-tail Moth in Massachusetts and the adjoining States. Dr. How-
ard, when treating of this insect and of an effort which is being made to introduce
European parasites says, in the Year-book of the Department of Agriculture for 1905:
“The Brown-tail Moth has become even more abundant and injurious than the Gypsy
Moth, and, owing to the fact that the female flies readily, whereas the female of tha
Gypsy Moth does not fly at all, the Brown-tail Moth has far exceeded the Gypsy Moth
in its spread.”

PLANTS INJURED.

‘These caterpillars injure nearly all of the large and small fruits, and many
perennial plants. The pear and apple seem to be favourites; but stone fruits, elms,
maples and the oak are also commonly injured. A list of over 80 different kinds of
food plants was published in 1903. Thousands of fruit trees in the vicinity of Boston,
Dr. Howard says, have been killed by the Brown-tail Moth.

THE BROWN-TAIL RASH.

‘Not only are the caterpillars of this insect voracious feeders upon the foliage of
many kinds of trees, but they cause much annoyance from their stinging hairs, which
cause excessive irritation when they come in contact with the human skin. Each hair
is barbed, and at the time the cocoons are spun these hairs are broken off and carried
by the wind, when they fall on the neck and other exposed parts of the body, giving

rise to a painful rash, which is very serious with some people, even although they —

may not have actually touched the caterpillars. Dr. Howard’s assistants who have been
working on this insect, have suffered very severely; and persons engaged in removing
the nests from trees in the winter time must be careful not to handle these nests too
freely, or they may be inconvenienced by this rash. The nests should be cut off from
the trees, placed in a basket with as little handling as possible, and burnt at once. Dr.
Howard states that “a large part of the popular feeling in New England that the
Brown-tail Moth must be exterminated, is due as much to the annoyance of this rash
as to the loss of vegetation from the caterpillars.” As a remedy for this rash a free
use of vaseline is recommended.

DESCRIPTION OF INSECT.

‘The Brown-tail Moth resembles very closely the well-known Fall Webworm, being
of a beautiful pure white, except the tip of the body, which in both sexes is brown, and
from which the popular name is derived. The female bears at the tip of the body an
almost globular tuft of brown hairs. Both sexes fly freely, and are much attracted to
lights—a fact of some importance as affecting their spread. The search-lights of
night-sailing passenger steamers have attracted so many as to have drawn the atten-
tion of the officers of such vessels, who reported that moths had alighted upon their
ships in great numbers in the vicinity of Boston about midnight on several occasions,
and the introduction of the species at more than one seaport in Maine is attributed by
Dr. Howard to vessels coming from the infested districts rather than by natural spread
by direct flight.

e

RHPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 47

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

ONLY ONE BROOD IN THE YEAR.

‘The eggs are laid in masses containing about 300 eggs. These masses are brown
in colour from a thick covering of the golden brown hairs from the tip of the body
of the female moth; and the whole egg mass more nearly resembles a silky, downy
caterpillar than a cluster of eggs. These masses average about two-thirds of an inch
in length by one-fourth of an inch in width, and are found on the lower surface of the
leaves in July. The caterpillars hatch in August, but do not injure the trees much
before winter. As soon as the buds burst in spring, they are at once attacked by the
caterpillars, which emerge from their winter shelters and do much harm.

SUMMER TREATMENT.

‘If the winter nests of the caterpillars have not been destroyed, trees should be
sprayed with arsenical or other poisonous washes, so as to destroy the caterpillars
during May and June. The caterpillars of the Brown-tail Moth are not so resistant
to the poisonous effects of Paris green as are those of the Gypsy Moth. The spraying
of all orchards with the poisoned Bordeaux mixture as a regular practice is recom-
mended to all Canadian fruit-growers as the best general means of securing first-class
fruit free of most of the ordinary pests which injure fruits. As the Brown-tail Moth
eaterpillars attack many other kinds of trees than fruit trees, it will be necessary that
they should also be sprayed, and for this purpose Paris green may be used. A good
useful poison wash consists of Paris green, 1 pound; fresh lime, 1 pound; water, 160
gallons. It is a very useful practice, however, among fruit-growers to use more than
1 pound of Paris green with lime in the 160 gallons, and, indeed, 2 pounds may be
used without danger if 2 pounds of lime are added. Arsenate of lead is a newer
remedy of great value, from the fact that it does not injure foliage so much, and
remains on the leaves for a longer time. Three pounds of arsenate of lead may be
used in 40 gallons of water without injury.

RESUME.

‘The Brown-tail Moth, which has been the cause of enormous loss in Europe and
the United States, is undoubtedly established in one locality in Nova Scotia, and pro-
bably in several others. It is important to find out as soon as possible the range of
infestation; and everybody is urged to send in as soon as possible any suspicious nests
of insects, or clusters of leaves webbed together, particularly if they contain cater-
pillars, whenever any are noticed on their trees.

‘The collection of the winter nests is the best and easiest means of controlling this
insect.

‘The collection of these nests must be done carefully, with as little handling as
possible, and all should be burnt at once when cut from the trees.

‘This work must be done before the buds burst.

‘ Any trees bearing nests of the Brown-tail Moth, after the buds have opened, must
be sprayed with some poisonous mixture for the destruction of the caterpillars.

‘The establishment of the Brown-tail Moth in Canada is a serious matter, affect-
ing everybody in the district where the insects occur.

’ What is now only a matter of considerable interest, may, if neglected, pecome a
public calamity.

‘Specimens for examination may be sent to the Entomologist, Central Exper
mental Farm, Ottawa. If so addressed, no postage will be required.

JAMES FLETCHER.’

48 > EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1919

Since 1906, the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture has been most active in
its endeavours to rid the province of this dreaded pest. The following letter gives
concisely the present state of the Brown-tail Moth in that province.

Truro, N.S., June 14, 1909.—‘ During the year we have had reported to us as
destroyed, after a very careful search, about 750 Brown-tail Moth nests, as compared
with about 6,000 two years ago, and 4,000 last year. I should also add that this
seasen’s search was the most thorough which we have yet made. It would accordingly
appear that unless something unforeseen happens, we are making some headway in
fighting this pest. Practically all nests have been discovered between Middleton,
Annapolis county, and Digby, Digby county, and the majority in the vicinity of
Bear River, Digby county——M. Cumming, Secretary for Agriculture.’

In another letter, Prof. Cumming stated that he had received a number of nests
from oak and other forest trees. For two years a bounty had been paid on every nest
collected, but during the present year this was discontinued, and instead, as is stated
by Prof. Cumming in a letter dated March 20: ‘We have now got down to what
might be termed house to house work, which is being done by graduates of our own
college.’ ;

Mr. Gibson deserves great credit for the hearty enthusiasm he has thrown
into this work and for the patient and thorough examination he has made of an
enormous amount of material.

EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROCYANIC ACID GAS TO KILL THE LARV OF THE BROWN-fAIL MOTH.
(By Arthur Gibson, Chief Assistant, Division of Entomology and Botany.)

In order to test the value of fumigation with hydrocyanie acid gas, to kill the
caterpillars of the Brown-tail Moth, the following experiments were conducted :—

February 26, 1909.—Two nests on pear seedlings, which had been put in a large
wide-mouthed glass jar, with cheese-cloth covering, were fumigated at the same
strength as is used in the federal fumigation stations, viz.: 1 ounce of cyanide of
potassium, 1 ounce of sulphuric acid and 3 ounces of water, to every 100 cubic feet
of air space. The fumigation box which was used is 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 8
feet long = 128 cubic feet. The amounts of chemicals used were 13 ounces cyanide
of potassium, 14 ounces sulphuric acid and 3% ounces of water. The nests were
exposed to the gas for 45 minutes, and afterwards when opened and examined the
larve were all found to be alive.

February 27.—Two different nests on pear fumigated. Chemicals used: 2 ounces
of cyanide of potassium, 2 ounces of sulphuric acid and 44 ounces of water, for the
128 cubic feet in box. Exposure 55 minutes; no larve killed.

March 2.—The two nests fumigated on February 27 were again submitted to the
same strength, but the exposure was for 45 minutes. A few caterpillars had emerged
from the nests and were on the outside of the same. Result: none killed.

March 12.—The same two nests were fumigated a third time. The strength was
increased to 24 ounces of cyanide of potassium, 24 ounces of sulphuric acid and 74
ounces of water to the 128 cubic feet of space. The exposure too, was lengthened to
one hour. Many of the caterpillars had left the nests and were resting on the sides
of the jar. One small parasite was found alive in the jar, just before the fumigation
took place. This, of course, had not been affected by the two previous fumigations
to which these nests were subjected. Result: thirty dead larve in the jar after the
fumigation, which was about one-fourth of the number of living caterpillars which
had occupied the nests. ;

March 15.—The remaining larve in the same two nests were fumigated a fourth
time. The strength used was the same as on March 12, but the exposure was
lengthened to two hours. Many of the caterpillars were active on the sides of the
jar. Result: only twelve dead, although several others were apparently without much

life.

.

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 49

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

March 16.—The balance of the larve in these two nests were fumigated a fifth
time. The strength was the same as on March 12, but the exposure was lengthened to
three hours. The larve were active in the jar before the fumigation. Result: 32
larve were found the following day to be dead, but the larger number were still alive.

March 18.—Two new nests on pear were fumigated at a strength of 32 ounces of
cyanide of potassium, 33 ounces of sulphuric acid and 113 ounces of water to the
128 cubic feet of space. This is three times the strength used in the federal fumiga-
tion houses for the destruction of the San José Scale on stock imported into Canada
under the San José Scale Act. These two nests had been kept in cold storage until
the day previous, and on bringing them into a warm office the larve soon began to
leave the nests, and by the time the fumigation took place, by far the larger number
of the caterpillars had emerged. The fumigation lasted for one hour. Result: only
18 larve dead.

On March 19 it was discovered that the chamber was leaking somewhat. It was
at once tightened with new felt.

March 22.—The larve from the two nests fumigated on March 18 were again
submitted to the same strength, but the exposure was lengthened to two hours. Result:
about 30 larve killed, the balance active.

March 29.—Other larve, not previously fumigated, but many of which had been
out of the nests for a considerable time, were exposed to the same strength of gas,
and length of time, as those fumigated on March 22. In this jar there were 55 living
larye. At first it was thought that 50 of these had been killed, but a later examina-
tion showed that only 37 were dead and that the rest were reviving.

The above experiments, although not very extensive, go to show that fumigation
with hydrocyanic acid gas evidently cannot be relied upon as a practical remedy for
this insect when in its winter condition. At the above strengths, even when the
fumigation chamber was tightened, only a very small percentage of larve which had
left the nests were killed. It would certainly require considerably greater strength
and much longer exposure to kill the larve when within the nests, and, owing to the
tough, closely-woven nature of these nests, the outcome would be very doubtful.

The following notes on some of the more important injurious insects of the past
year have been compiled by Mr. Arthur Gibson, Chief Assistant, mainly from memo-
randa gathered by the Division of Entomology and Botany prior to the decease of the
late head of the Division, Dr. James Fletcher.

THE CHIEF INJURIOUS INSECTS OF 1908.

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CEREAL AND OTHER FIELD CROPS.
(By Arthur Gibson, Chicf Assistant.)

During the season of 1908 very few of the well-known insect enemies of grain
crops were injuriously abundant.

Tue Hessian Fry, Mayetiola destructor, Say—From Manitoba a single report
came to the Division of injury by this insect. The only occurrence in Ontario which
came under our notice was of a rather important outbreak which occurred in some
wheat fields near Ottawa. Plants were noticed to be infested about the end of May,
and in some places the attack was quite serious. In fields where the soil was poor and
where the unfavourable weather conditions had weakened the plants, probably as many
as fifty per cent ‘were infested by the Hessian Fly. In other fields where the soil was
better, the plants were stronger and better able to withstand the unfavourable condi-
tions of the season, and in these fields the loss from Hessian Fly would amount to
about five per cent. From collected material, both sexes of the flies emerged on June

16—4

50 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

20, 22 and 23. Prof. Bethune reports that this insect was present in 1908 in injurious.
numbers, affecting winter wheat, in the counties of Norfolk, Brant and Essex in the
Niagara district. The postponement of the time of seeding of fall wheat, until towards
the end of September, has proved to be an important preventive remedy. By that
time the flies of the second brood will have emerged and be dead. Care should be
taken, of course, to prepare the land as well as possible for the crop, and it will also
be a good plan to sow strips of wheat in August, in periods of excessive abundance,
which should be ploughed under before the middle of September to kill all the con-
tained larve. Land in which infested wheat has been growing should be put into
another crop the following year.

THe WueEat Joint Worm, Isosoma tritict, Fitch—In some parts of western
Ontario this insect was present in considerable numbers. One correspondent, Mr.
‘Sydney Cooper, of Mull, Ont., reports as follows :—

‘September 3, 1908. As requested, I send you the wheat plants injured by the
Joint Worm. On further investigation I find that the country for miles around has
the Joint Worm in the wheat. Our thresher is quite observant, and he says that he
has not threshed one crop as yet which is free of it. He also states that in one in-
stance, as the sun was shining on a bin of wheat, it had the appearance of moving,
the insects were so thick.’

The adult insect is a true fly, with only two wings. It is very small, about one-
tenth of an inch long, jet black in colour, with pale legs. The females pierce the
straw and lay from six to twelve eggs inside its tissues. These eggs hatch into very
small, slender, footless grubs, of a pale yellow colour, which when mature are about
one-eighth of an inch in length. As the young grubs grow they cause a distortion of
the stems a little above the first or second joints from the roots. Most of the grubs
pass the winter inside of the galls or swellings, but a few transform and appear as
flies in late autumn.

The following recommendations are taken from Bulletin 52, by the late Dr.
Fletcher :—

‘There is apparently only one brood of the Joint Worms in Canada; and, as they
pass the winter in the straw, for the most part so near to the ground that a large
proportion of the larve are in the stubble left on the fields, they can be largely reduced
in numbers by burning over the stubble or by ploughing it down deeply. The broken
off hardened pieces of straw which become separated in threshing and cleaning should »
be carefully gathered and burnt. Sometimes no apparent galls are formed, mercly
slight swellings with a hard, thickened condition of the straws representing the galls.
These portions break off in threshing, and many are carried through with the grain.
Straw from an infested crop should be got out of the way, either by feeding or burning
before the ensuing spring.’

A regular short rotation of crops, while reducing the number of bad weeds and
preventing them from increasing, will also do much to reduce the numbers of the
Joint Worms. All recorded occurrences of Joint Worms in Canada have been of short
duration.

Tue CuincH Bue, Blissus leucopterus Say.—Occasional records in Canada of this
very destructive insect have been made, but fortunately no serious outbreak has, as
yet, occurred, within the Dominion. In September, 1908, specimens of an insect were
sent to the Division from Mr. R. Benedict, of Crowland, Ont., with the statement
that it had destroyed all the late oats in his district. The oats, he said, turned white
just after they had headed out, and thousands of the insects were on the ground.
When the specimens were examined, it was at once seen that they were the well-known
Chinch Bug, which has caused millions of dollars of loss to crops in a single year in
the United States. Writing further, under date of October 5, Mr. Benedict says:
‘With regard to the Chinch Bug, I may say that the insects did practically no damage

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 51

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

except to the late oats, of which, owing to the late season, there was quite a large
acreage. The damage was general over the county of Welland.’

Prof. F. M. Webster, of the Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D.C., who is one
of the leading American economic entomologists, and a high authority on insects
affecting cereals, writes, in the Annual Report of the Entomological Society of
Ontario, for 1898: ‘ While the Chinch Bug, in all probability originally a neo-tropical
species, has as you know, spread northward over a portion of the Dominion of Canada,
and while it has not as yet been known to depredate upon your crops to any notice-
able degree, yet it may do so in the future, in which case it may be expected to first
make its presence known in your timothy meadows rather than in your grain fields,
and quite likely will work considerable injury before it is reecgnized by your agricul-
turists.’

The Chinch Bug when mature is about one-fifth of an inch long. It is blackish
in colour, with conspicuous white wing-covers. In the immature form, the young
bugs are mostly red, but the colour varies in the different stages. The winter is
passed in the adult state. In the United States the mature insects hibernate in clumps
of grass, under pieces of board, loose bark, stones, &c., and in the first warm days of
spring appear again, pair, and the females soon begin to lay their eggs, according to
most writers, either about or below the surface of the ground, among the roots of grass
or grain. Prof. Webster says: ‘It is more than likely that this varies with the condi-
tion, as the eggs are not infrequently found above ground about the bases of the
plants, and even upon the leaves, though I have never found them there, but have
often found them under the sheaths of grasses.’ The eggs hatch in from two to three
weeks. In most areas in North America, where the Chinch Bug is destructive, there
are at least two broods, but in northeastern Ohio, which is just across the lake from
the Canadian border, Prof. Webster doubted the occurrence of a second brood of
young.

The Chinch Bug feeds on a number of different plants. It is recorded as feeding
on all kinds of grain, several of the native grasses, as well as on broom-corn, sorghum,
chicken-corn, rice, &c. In the western portions of the United States the damage is
done chiefly to wheat, barley, rye and corn. ‘

The remedies recommended for this insect are the cleaning up of all refuse in
autumn which might serve as hibernating quarters for the adults; the making of deep
furrows around infested fields at the time the insects migrate in which they can be
killed by an application of kerosene emulsion; and the spraying of the outer edges of
the fields with the same material when the insects are leaving one crop to attack
‘another. If this latter is done it will stop the invasion for the time being and give
the farmer a chance to plough another deep furrow along the edge of the field to be
protected. The Chinch Bug is treated of very fully by Prof. F. M. Webster, in
Bulletin No. 15, new series, of the Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D.C.

Tue Grain ApuHis, Macrostphum granaria Kirby, which caused considerable alarm
in the northwestern provinces in 1907, owing to the supposition that it was the so-
called ‘Green Bug,’ was in 1908 very prevalent in many parts of Ontario and
Quebec. Towards the end of August reports of its presence in large numbers began
to come in, the complaints referring to its attacks on wheat. In his report, as
Entomologist and Botanist, on the insects of the year 1907, the late Dr. Fletcher says:
‘Unfortunately for the Grain Aphis there is no practical remedy which can be applied
in a wholesale manner, but Prof. F. M. Webster, who has devoted much attention to
the insects which attack grain crops, has constantly drawn attention to the great
advantage of practising good agricultural methods in working land, such as the
adoption of a regular rotation of crops, so as to keep up the fertility of the soil, and
advises that care should be taken to sow grain at the best time to secure a vigorous
growth, which will enable the plants to withstand the attacks of the aphis sufficiently
long to allow the natural parasites which always sooner or later appear, to increase,

16—4}3

52 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

so that the numbers of the plant lice may be reduced before serious injury is done
to the grain plants.’

In 1908 it was noticed, in many places, that towards the end of the season, the
parasites were present in large numbers and were quickly reducing the colonies of
the aphis, but some reports say that they did not appear soon enough to prevent some
damage. .

THE CLOVER-SEED Mince, Cecidomyia leguminicola Lint.—During the past season
the Clover-seed Midge has done serious damage in districts in Ontario, where clover
is grown for seed. Many complaints have been received from farmers of the presence
of the small, legless, pink maggots in their clover seed at threshing time, and some
anxiety has been felt as to whether these would mature, and affect the crop of next
year. In the samples received at the Central Experimental Farm, all the maggots
were dead and shrivelled up. ;

The life-history and habits of this insect are well known. There are two broods
in the season, corresponding with the two crops of clover seed. The eggs are laid in the
forming flower heads of the clover; when these eggs hatch, the maggots penetrate the
seed pods and destroy the seed. When the larve are full grown, about the end of
June, they leave the clover-heads and enter a short distance into the ground, to
change to pupe. The perfect insects, forming the second brood, emerge from the
ground, just as soon as the second crop of clover is coming into flower, and the females
at once begin to lay their eggs amongst the forming blossoms. These eggs soon hatch,
and about the time the seed is ripe the maggots leave the clover and enter the ground
to pass the winter, whence they emerge again the next spring, just at the time the
clover comes into flower.

Experience has taught farmers that the practice of feeding off their clover fields
with cattle and sheep, until the beginning or middle of June, or cutting it before the
20th of that month, is the only way to secure an autumn crop of seed; thus the
maggots of this first brood are destroyed by the cattle eating them, or they dry up
with the clover hay which has been cut before they were mature enough to leave the
heads of clover and go into the ground to pupate and change to the perfect insect,
which is a small midge. If the clover is left standing in the fields till the end of
June, a sufficient time elapses for this latter process to take place, and the perfect
flies emerge again just in time to lay their eggs in the opening flowers of the second
crop. In this way the seed of the second crop is destroyed, as well as that of the first.

As mentioned above, in all the samples of clover seed received last autumn and
during early winter, the maggots were already dead and dried up; consequently there
would be no advantage in destroying, by burning, such material. At threshing time,
however, if the living maggots are noticed, it would be a good practice to have all
screenings swept up and burned.

Tue Hop Fiea-Beetie, Psylliodes punctulata Melsh. —This insect in 1908 again
did extensive injury to the hop plants in the large yards in British Columbia. During
the last three years it has been estimated that this small black flea-beetle has destroyed
fully three-fourths of the hops grown in British Columbia.

The following letters from the correspondence received by the late Dr. Fletcher
show how extensive this outbreak was in 1908, in the large hop yards of Sir Arthur
Stepney, at Agassiz, B.C. :—

‘Vancouver, B.C., April 23.—The flea-beetles since my last visit (to Agassiz)
two weeks ago have appeared in large numbers, and are now destroying the shoots of
vines which are some five or six inches high. They are also in considerable numbers
in the poles. Mr. Wilson showed me your letter to him, advising the spray of whale-
oil soap, one pound in ten gallons of water. Fortunately we nad a considerable supply
of this on hand, and I immediately tried the solution advised by you, with most
gratifying results. Outside of kerosene it is the only thing we have found so far that

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 53

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

kills the beetle practically wholesale. I am much obliged, indeed, for your suggestion,
as yesterday when I saw the results of our other experiments and the beetle covering
such a large area, I was in despair. I think the remedy is just in time to save things.
I have discovered that the beetles are not confined to the yard, having found a number
in the wood adjoining and also on nettles and other plants nearby.—H. C. Axroyp.’

Mr. Akroyd was written to on May 9 as follows:—‘I sincerely hope that the good
effects of the whale-oil soap spraying continues. I am sorry I did not ask you to add
to this wash 3 lbs. of arsenate of lead to each 40 gallons of wash. I cannot believe
that this beetle is immune from the effects of that poison. I am really much inter-
ested in this experiment and am determined that we will control this beetle. The
chief difficulty, I feel, is the occurrenee of the beetle in the wood, which will mean
frequent relays of the pest from that source. I believe the whale-oil soap will kill
all the beetles it touches. The strength I advised of 1 Ib. in 5 gallons of water (not
10 as you say in your letter), but if 1 in 10 answers so much the better. because it
reduces both the cost and the risk of injury to the plants—James FLETCHER.’

‘Vancouver, B.C., May 19.—At the present time the beetles have completely
devastated the whole of our yard with the exception of some 20 acres which we are
spraying daily. The spray suggested by you proves a great success, but it appears to
us we are unable to keep pace with the beetles, for the vines are covered with new
insects inside of 24 hours. We experimented in several ways with the whale-oil soap,
but found your suggestion of 1 lb. to 5 gallons of water the best. We have not, how-
ever, found so far the arsenate of lead to be advantageous. We have been using it
in the proportion of 1 Ib. to 10,gallons of water. We have also been experimenting
with a bucket of kerosene to 80 gallons of wash, but this also does not seem to have
made any difference. The whale-oil soap we are using is made by the Royal Soap
Company of this city, and guaranteed to be 80 per cent whale-oil. We have five
sprayers—three of 45 gallons each and two of 90 gallons each—now in use on the
yard, and we have been endeavouring to save a portion of the yard, which was badly
damaged when we first commenced spraying. The only way I can see of saving the
yard this year would have been by spraying with your solution every 24 hours when the
shoots first appeared. Of course this would mean a very large outlay in horses and
sprayers. Mr. Wilson has written me this morning stating that the Horst Company
have abandoned all hope of any crop this year. I personally went over their yards
about a week ago and found them practically devastated. I think I wrote you in my
last letter that the beetle had completely eaten up all tomato plants in the district.—
H. C. Akroyp.’

In a letter written early in July, Mr. Akroyd stated that the constant spraying
of the vines with whale-oil soap and water had the effect of curling up the leaves and
' making them very brittle and tender. Spraying was tried with a slightly less propor-
tion of the whale-oil soap than recommended, but it was found that with less strength
it would not destroy the beetle. About the middle of July the beetles were reported
to have gradually diminished in numbers and that very few were seen on the vines.
Towards the end of the month the beetles had practically disappeared. In early
September, Mr. Akroyd visited the hop yards, and reported that more beetles were then
present but not in very large numbers. At that time coal-oil pans and tarred boards
were being used to keep the beetle in check. The vines which were sprayed most
extensively were reported by Mr. Akroyd, on September 4, to be bearing well, but the
crop as a whole would be small.

Writing under date of May 28, Mr. Hulbert, of Sardis, B.C., reported that the
Hop Flea-beetle was doing great damage in the hop yards in his district. He stated
that he had been keeping his under control for several years by catching them on
tarred sheets, which are placed under the vines, and as these are jarred lightly with a
branch or light stick, the beetles fall off and adhere to the tar.

In a recent bulletin by Dr. F. H. Chittenden on this insect (Bulletin 66, part VI.,
Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D.C.), valuable information is given on its

54 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

habits in British Columbia, data for which have been furnished by Mr. H. J. Quayle,
of Whittier, Cal., who made studies on the life-history of the flea-beetle in British
Columbia in July last. The beetle is a general feeder and besides the hop, is known
to feed on rhubarb, beet, cucumber, turnip, radish, cabbage, mustard, potato, and red
and white clover, as well as a number of weeds. The eggs, larve and pup of the insect
were found by Mr. Quayle at a depth of from three to six inches from the surface of
the ground, and, it is stated by him, that the larve apparently feed on the roots of the
hop as well as upon other plants growing in the yard. Dr. Chittenden says: ‘ The
abundance of the beetles when they appear early in the season on young plants, their
constant reappearance, and the constant new growth of the plants from day to day,
make it difficult to apply direct remedies with more than temporary benefit. Where
the hops are sprayed with kerosene emulsion or whale-oil soap for the hop aphis the
numbers of the beetles are lessened. Among measures which give promise of value
are the institution of clean methods of cultivation, including deep fall ploughing,
treating hop poles in such manner as to prevent the beetles from hibernating in them,
and clearing all remnants from fields so as to leave them as bare as possible to prevent
the beetles from sheltering there in winter. Arsenate of lead, Paris green, kerosene
emulsion, whale-oil soap and Bordeaux mixture should receive further tests, as should
the employment of trap crops.’ With regard to the trap crops, as the beetle is par-
ticularly fond of rhubarb, it is suggested in the above bulletin that this plant be
grown ‘between rows, e.g. in the vicinity of woods, as an attraction, or lure, for the
beetles, it being believed that the beetles will concentrate on these plants and thus
give the crops an opportunity to grow to a sufficient height and strength to be able to
resist the ravages of the pest.’

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO ROOTS AND VEGETABLES.

These crops were affected to a considerable extent by insects during 1908. The
season in most districts was a remarkable one, owing to the long continued drought.
At Ottawa the months of June, July, August and September were particularly dry,
the rainfall from the end of May till the beginning of October being only 6-80 inches.
Roots and vegetables consequently suffered severely from this cause and from attacks
of various insects. Wire-worms were prevalent in land which had been in sod and
which had just been used for potatoes. The Striped Cucumber Beetle was reported
as being destructive in western Ontario. The Turnip Flea Beetle was very trouble-
some in many gardens. These small, very active, shining beetles did much harm to
young turnips and were also very destructive to the first sowings of radishes. Root
maggots were more abundant than in 1907. Plant lice were much in evidence during
the season. Towards the end of the summer, Swede turnips, cabbages and cauliflowers
were attacked in many districts by the Turnip and Cabbage Aphis. At Ottawa, early
in October, celery plants were severely injured by plant lice and many rendered useless.

Tue SMALL Wuire Caspace Butterriy, Pontia rape L.—This well-known enemy -
of market gardeners has been much inquired about. Its injuries during the past season
have been prevalent throughout Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. The velvety
green caterpillars, are about an inch long, with a broken yellow line along each side,
and an unbroken one down the middle of the back. At first they eat the outside leaves,
but eventually bore right into the head of the cabbage. As soon as the first appearance
of the caterpillars is noticed, the plants should be dusted with pyrethrum insect
powder, 1 lb. in 4 lbs. of cheap flour, after the whole has been mixed together and
kept in a tight jar for 24 hours. As this remedy is so simple and has been recom-
mended so often the annual loss by this insect should not be allowed to take place.

CutTworms.—Early in the season, cutworms, as usual, were present in injurious
numbers in many districts throughout the Dominion. Reports of serious injury by

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY ‘65

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

these caterpillars came from British Columbia, but as no specimens were received,
it was impossible to say with certainty what the species was which was at work.

‘Peachland, B.C., May 28, 1908.—I have a lot of garden stuff this spring and the
cutworms are devouring everything. Thousands of tomato and other plants have been
cut. Where the land is kept cultivated and no other crops growing between the peach
trees, they are climbing the trees—H. W. Craw ey.’

‘Peachland, B.C., June 20.—The cutworms here have caused a loss of thousands
of dollars in seeds and plants and labour, not counting the loss of the season’s: crops
of such things as tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, &c. Young fruit trees have suffered;
rhubarb, onions, strawberries, in fact everything is attacked by them —H. W. Crawtey.’

In Ontario the Dark-sided Cutworm, Paragrotis messoria Harr. and the Red-
backed Cutworm, P. ochrogaster Gn. were responsible for most of the damage. The
Greasy Cutworm, Agrotis ypsilon Rott. was locally injurious in fields of corn, as was
also the Glassy Cutworm, Hadena devastatrix Brace.

The most effective remedy against cutworms is the poisoned bran which has
lately come into such wide use. This is made by mixing half a pound of Paris green
with fifty pounds of slightly moistened bran. In making this it is best first to dampen
some of the bran slightly with water containing a little sugar or molasses. After
mixing thoroughly, add the Paris green by dusting it on the surface and stirring all
the time. Half a pound of Paris green is enough to poison fifty pounds of bran,
although double this amount may be used. If the mixture is too wet, more bran
should be stirred in until the mixture will crumble easily and run through the fingers
without adhering. When required for garden use, all that is necessary is to sprinkle
a little of the mixture by hand around such plants as are liable to attack. When
crops are planted in drills or in rows, a convenient way is to make the mixture rather
dry, and then distribute it by means of a Planet Jr. or other wheel seeder. In field
practice, among such close growing crops as standing grain, the poisoned bran is also
serviceable. The mixture can be distributed by means of a paddle or shingle, and
ean be thrown easily to a distance of 20 feet. When distributed in this way, there
is much less danger of chickens and birds picking it up than if it is placed in lumps.
Strange to say, the cutworms will devour the poisoned bran in preference to the
growing plants.

Tue AppPLe LEAF-HOPPER, Hmpoasca malt LeB.—In eastern Ontario and Quebec,
the ravages of the Apple Leaf-hopper, to potatoes, beans and many other kinds of
plants, were very serious; in fact, this outbreak was one of the most important of the
year. This insect, which is very small, slender, pale greenish, about one-eighth of
an inch long when mature, is closely allied to the Thrip, which commonly attacks the
Virginian Creeper and causes the leaves to dry up and fall about the beginning of
August.

The Apple Leaf-hopper began to make its presence apparent towards the end
of June, by ‘causing the leaves of the attacked plants to curl up and turn brown. The
injury is done by thousands of these small insects, sucking the juices from the leaves
and stems of the plant, which very soon blackens and fades. Some correspondents
have thought that the injury to potatoes was due to the ravages of the well-known
Potato Blight, a fungous disease, and have been surprised that the standard remedy
for that disease, viz.: spraying the foliage with Bordeaux mixture, had not had the
desired effect of stopping the injury. The young leaf-hoppers do not get their wings
for some time after they hatch from the egg. It is during this stage that most of
the harm is done, and this is the only time when a remedy can be applied with much
success. As they are sucking insects, something which will kill by merely coming
- into contact with their bodies must be used, such as whale-oil soap, one pound in
five gallons of water, or the ordinary kerosene emulsion. Potatoes which were sprayed
with both of these mixtures early in July, before the young leaf-hoppers had acquired

56 a EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

their wings, were freed from the pest and not since injured to any appreciable extent.
As these insects feed on the lower side of the leaves, it is necessary, in order to reach
them with a spray, to attach the nozzle to a short joint of pipe about a foot. long,
having an angle of about 45 degrees in it. This can be made by any blacksmith.
The severity of the outbreak of this insect in 1908, was doubtless much aggravated
by the exceptional drought and heat which weakened the plants and made them more
than usually susceptible to injury by the Apple Leaf-hopper and other insects.

The following letters will give some idea of the extent of the injury done by the
Apple Leaf-hopper. .

‘ Aultsville, Ont., July 30, 1908.—The potato crop in this vicinity is attacked by
a very small green fly, which is present in enormous numbers and doing much damage.
They appear to work under the leaf, with the result that the leaves curl up and finally
die—Joun H. Crott.’

‘Almonte, Ont., July 30.—I send a sample of some of our potato tops. Is it a
blight, or is it a trouble caused by the extreme heat? The trouble appears to effect.
the older leaves first in most cases, as there will be more or less appearance of it near
the base of the stalk while the top is very thrifty and green.—J. K. Darina.’

The potato tops were carefully examined on arrival, and they showed the injury
caused by the Apple Leaf-hopper. ;

‘Ottawa, Ont., July 30.—A little green fly is killing our searlet runner beans.
Please tell me what will destroy it—A. R. Raupu.’

‘Perth, Ont., August 1—The potatoes in this vicinity are badly infested with a
small green insect. We should like to get some information concerning this pest.—
R. S. Hamer.’

‘Lakefield, Ont., August 31.—I am writing in reference to the widespread failure
of the potato crop in our county—Peterborough. The weather has been favourable,
though rather dry in August. The potato beetle has been kept in check, and in some
ceases plants have been sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, but the tops have withered
and the tubers are small. On a visit to Bobcaygeon, I found the same conditions

there, One grower here says that the plants have been destroyed by little green bugs.
—A. W. MacKenzit.’

Reports of great damage to potatoes and other vegetables were received from
other points in Ontario and Quebec. Mr. Harold Jones, of Maitland, Ont., called
at the Division on August 22, and reported that the leaf-hopper was very bad on
potatoes in his district. He gave an instance of where nine potatoes only were
gathered from nine hills. The presence of this insect in injurious numbers was also
reported from northern points in New York State.

THe Destructive Pea Apuis, Nectarophora pisi, Kalt—Early in August reports
were received from correspondents in Ontario and Quebee of serious injury to the
pea erop by a large green aphis, which suddenly appeared in enormous numbers.
From specimens received, and from an investigation in the Ottawa district, it was
soon seen that the insect at work was the destructive Pea Aphis. This plant-louse is
pale green, with legs darkened, particularly at the joints, and has long honey tubes.
It clusters in enormous numbers at the tips of the shoots, beneath the leaves, and,
when very numerous, spreads over the whole plants of field peas, as well as upon the
flowering Sweet Peas. These insects, as already mentioned, appear suddenly in large
numbers, and very soon kill the plants by sucking their sap. The winged specimens
are rather large for plant lice, being about one-eighth of an inch in length, with a
wing expanse of nearly one-quarter of an inch.

‘Lysander, Que., August 7, 1908.—I send specimens of a pale green insect which
are covering my field peas. The plants are turning red and are withering up.—
T. W. Loncmoor.’

‘Bedford Park, Ont., August 8—A green insect has appeared on the pea crop
in this neighbourhood. Some of the farmers are weeping and wailing because they

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 57

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

are going to lose their pea crop. There are myriads of this insect in this district.—
SaMvuEL WICcKs.’

‘Vars, Ont., August 5.—I am sending you a portion of a pea vine which is
infested with a small green insect. This insect is playing havoe with the pea crop in
some sections. My peas are being destroyed by this insect and some of the neigh-
bours’ peas are also affected—D. N. JonnstTone.’

‘Plainville, Ont., August 6.—Please find inclosed a specimen of louse that is
attacking peas to ah an extent that many fields will be scarcely worth harvesting.
Will you have the kindness to give their history? Are they likely to continue for a
number of years, and will it be safe to sow peas next year?- While playing havoc
with later peas, they did not attack the early peas——W. J. Westincton, President,
Farmers’ Institute.’ ‘

In reply to the above, Mr. Westington was informed that the Destructive Pea
Aphis was this year being attacked by several important parasites, and owing to this,
the injury was being stopped. As to whether it will be safe to sow peas again next
year, it was pointed out that this would depend upon the amount of destruction
wrought, generally, on the plant lice by the parasites during the autumn. In the last
outbreak, in 1889 and 1900, the attack lasted for two years, but it stopped suddenly,
just as it began, and in 1901, not a specimen of the insect was seen.

‘Freeman, Ont., August 10.—You will be interested in knowing that we have an
outbreak of aphis in the pea fields about here. In most cases the little green lice are
so plentiful that no portion of the crop is spared.—Gro. E. FisHer.’

‘Shawville, Que., August 31—I have a large field of peas which has been
destroyed by a large green louse. They do not eat the leaf, but suck all the substance
out of the vines, and the plants dry up. The peas were a pretty heavy crop. Would
like to know what this insect is and the cure, as my crop is a total failure. My
neighbour’s peas are also affectedANprEW Sty.’ =

In the Ottawa district the Destructive Pea Aphis was particularly noticed on
Sweet Peas in gardens. From observations made after the middle of August, it was
noticed that several kinds of parasites were busily at work, and that the plant-lice were
thus being reduced rapidly in numbers. Lady-bird beetles and syrphus-flies were
doing the larger share of this good work, but two other kinds of parasites which had
never before been reared in the Division were present in considerable numbers. One
of these belongs to the Cecidomyid genus Aphidoletes, the members of which are
well knuwn on account of their habits of preying upon aphids. The other was a small
four-winged hymenopterous fly which proved to be an undescribed species, and which
has since been described (Canadian Entomologist, March, 1909) as Megorismus
fletchert of Crawford.

Remedies.—In the report of the Entomologist and Botanist for 1899, the late
Dr. Fletcher wrote as follows:—‘ When an insect appears in such large numbers as the
Destructive Pea Aphis did during the past season, and increases with such rapidity,
it is evident that it would be impossible to apply any remedy over such a large
acreage as was simultaneously attacked, in most places where the insect occurs; but
upon green peas and the flowering Sweet Peas in garden, the ordinary remedies used
against other plant lice were found to be quite effective against this one also. Upon
the Central Experimental Farm the Horticulturist had the plants sprayed with a
tobacco and soap wash made of ten pounds of tobacco leaves in half a barrel of water,
the liquid from which was strained off after a few hours, and two pounds of whale-
oil soap were added. When the soap was all dissolved water was added to make forty
gallons, and the liquid was then applied with a spraying pump. Most of the plant
lice were found to be dead two days afterwards, and on such parts of the rows as
received two applications, the vines were quite cleared of the insects.’

In his report for 1901, in speaking of the work of the late Prof. Johnson, he
says: ‘Many remedies were experimented with by Prof. Johnson, and it was found

58 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

that what he has called the “brush and cultivator method” was the most effective
remedy. For this it is necessary that the peas should be planted in rows, and when
the insects are noticed the vines are brushed backward and forward with a good pine
switch, in front of an Iron Age cultivator, drawn by a single horse. In this manner
the plant lice which leave the vines quickly when these are shaken were covered up
as soon as they fell to the ground, and a large proportion of them destroyed. The
operation was not repeated until the third day, as it usually required over 48 hours to
destroy the insects when covered with earth. All the practical methods were tried,
and it was found that the brush and cultivator method was the most effective:
Another method which was tried with considerable success, consisted of a brush which
dislodged the insects so that they fell into a pan containing coal oil and water drawn
between the rows of peas. In this way a bushel of plant lice were caught to each row
of peas 125 rods long. Spraying was tested by a thorough trial upon 100 acres, and
all sorts of insecticides for sucking insects were used, but this method was abandoned
because no spray could be found which would destroy a large enough percentage of the
insects to warrant the expense of the operation.’

Roor Nedecons Pac troublesome insects were much inquired about during 1908.
From almost every province in the Dominion the complaints refer particularly to
ravages to onions. In many instances, whole fields of onions were destroyed. In
British Columbia the maggots were still at work when the onions were taken up in
autumn. Cabbages, cauliflowers and radishes were also much injured.

As these insects are so often inquired about, it has been thought wise to repeat
here what the late Dr. Fletcher says in his Bulletin No. 52 of the Dominion Experi-
mental Farms series.

‘The Cabbage or Radish Maggot, and the Onion Maggot, which for all practical
purposes may be treated of here as the same species, cause great loss in crops of cauli-
flowers, early cabbages, turnips, radishes and onions, almost every season.

‘The maggots which are found attacking cabbages, radishes, cauliflowers and tur-
nips, and those in onions, and in beans and corn, are very similar, but they belong to
three different species, Phorbia brassice, Bouché, attacking plants of the cabbage
family, Phorbia ceparum, Meig., infesting onions, and Phorbia fusciceps, Zett.,
injuring beans and corn.

“Corn sown during a cold, wet period by which germination is unduly delayed, is
very liable to be attacked by the Corn-seed Maggot (P. fusciceps). In such cases
it is well to wait for warm weather to re-sow and then push on the crop with a light
dressing of nitrate of soda, 200 lbs. to the acre.

‘The perfect flies of all these maggots are very similar to the ordinary observer and
may be described as slender flies, somewhat smaller than the ordinary house fly, which
fly about close to the ground and lay their white eggs on the stems of the young plants.
Here after a few days the maggots hatch and work their way down beneath the soil,
where they lie close to the root or burrow into it, tearing the tissues with their hook-
like mandibles and living on the sap, thus soon reducing the root or stem to a rotten
mass. When full grown these maggots turn to reddish brown puparia in the soil close
to the roots. The exact number of broods of these maggots which may be found in a
season seems to be rather complicated by the overlapping of broods, and the delay in
issuing of some individuals of each brood; but practically it may be said that cabbage
and radish maggots do by far the greatest amount of harm during the month of June,
and early in July, and in many years their injuries are slight after that period. With
onions the injury continues throughout the season and is most noticeable in June,
August and September. The injury to beans and Indian corn “is only in spring, and,
as a rule, is confined to plants which have been weakened by the seeds being planted too
deeply or by late frosts. However, in seasons of excessive abundance cabbage and
onion maggots may be found all through the growing season, and cabbages and cauli-

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 59

SESSIONAt PAPER No. 16

flowers are occasionally injured in autumn by the maggots attacking the heads of the
plants.

“Remedies.—_Up to the present time it cannot be claimed that any perfectly effi-
c@@cious remedy has been discovered for root maggots. In certain years they seem to
be so extremely abundant that even the best remedies merely seem to prolong the lives
of the plants, and only a very small proportion of a crop can be saved. In ordinary
years, however, much can be done to protect crops liable to attack, and the following
are the remedies which have given the best results :—

‘For Onions——White hellebore dusted along the rows once a week from,
the time the young plants appeared above the ground gave comparatively clean onions,
very few being attacked. Fresh gas lime broadcasted over onion fields at the rate of
two hundredweight to the acre had a similar effect; but, where the caustic lime came
in contact with the young onions, they were burnt out. A light dressing, between the
rows of onions, of the same material gave almost as good results as where it was dis-
tributed over the whole field. When onions have begun to form their bulbs, the earth
may be hoed or brushed away right down to the roots, and in some years the maggots
do not penetrate the bulbs. As soon as the earth is hoed away in garden practice, a
dusting along the rows with white hellebore makes the protection more complete.

‘ Dressings of salt, Paris green and plaster and wood ashes have been found useless
in protecting onions from the attacks of root maggots.

‘For Cabbages.—(1.) Tarred Paper Disks.—Pieces of ordinary tarred paper three
inches in diameter, with a slit running to the centre so as to allow of their being
placed around the stems af young cabbages and cauliflowers at the time of planting,
and pressed down close to the ground, will prevent to a large measure the flies from
laying their eggs on plants so protected, or will kill the young maggots.

‘(2.) Insect Powder.—About half a teacupful of a decoction of pyrethum insect
powder (four ounces to a gallon of water), or of white hellebore of the same
strength poured around the root of each plant, after drawing away the earth
right down to the root, will destroy any maggots which may have started to
work. The earth should be put back again and the plants well hilled up, when new
rootlets will soon be formed. A light sprinkling of nitrate of soda or some special
fertilizer will encourage a quick growth and much help the plants to overcome attack.
Dressings of one ounce to the square yard may be used for this purpose. Cabbage
plants should be examined late in June to see if the maggots are at work. The earlier
the treatment with insect powder or white hellebore is applied the more effective it
will be. If the mixture is applied to the roots with a force pump, although more liquid
is consumed, it has the advantage of dislodging many of the maggots so that their
injuries cease at once.’

‘(3.) Cheese-cloth inclosures——A very effective and practical means of procuring
early radishes, cabbages and cauliflowers, perfectly free from root maggots, is by grow-
ing them beneath cheap frames made of light wood covered with cheese-cloth. A con-
venient size for small beds is 8 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet high. This frame can
be made for about 25 cents, of one and a half inch square wood, nailed together at the
corners, and with the cheese-cloth tacked on the outside. In such a frame five cauli-
flowers and two rows of radishes have been grown to perfection. The frame was kept
on from the time the young plants came up until the radishes were pulled.

‘“Cauliflowers were sufficiently advanced to require no further protection and the
frames were removed about the first of August.

‘For Radishes.—The maggot which attacks the radish is the same species as also
attacks cabbages and turnips, the severity of attack on these different crops being
about in the erder in which they are named, so that in years of light attack radishes
will draw off injury from the cabbages.

60 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII. A. 1910

‘Injuries to turnips are seldom severe, and in most instances a crop shows little
sign of this attack in autumn, even in seasons when the maggots may have been
found in considerable numbers in the spring.

‘(1.) The Cook carbolic wash, consisting of one quart of soft soap, or
one pound of-hard soap, in a gallon of water, with half a pint of crude carboliec acid
added, and the whole boiled together for a few minutes, to make the stock emulsion,
has proved over and over again an excellent remedy for radish maggots. The stock
emulsion can be kept in a closed vessel, so that dust and rubbish will not fall into it,
and, when required for use, one part of this mixture by measure is added to fifty of

ewater, and should be sprayed directly upon the growing plants from the time they
appear above the ground, once a week until ready for the table.

“(2.) White hellebore dusted along the rows of radishes once a week from
the time they appear above the ground, has given good results in most years.

For Beans and Corn.—Injury to these crops in Canada is a rare occurrence. The
only remedy which can be suggested, is to sow these crops in good season in well
prepared soil and not deeper than one or two inches.’

During 1908, some experiments were conducted at the Central Experimental
Farm with several mixtures in the hope of obtaining something more definite in the
way of a practical remedy. The most encouraging results were obtained from a use
of sulphate of iron, two ounces to every gallon of water, applications made a week
apart from the time the onions appeared above ground.

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS.

Among the insects which have been most destcurtive to fruits during 1908, the
following may be mentioned :—

Tue AppLte Maccot, Rhagoletes pomonella Walsh.—This insect continues to be
prevalent in certain districts in Ontario and Quebec. During 1908, it was again
present in injurious numbers at Como and one or two other points in Quebec pro-
vince. In Ontario, in Prince Edward county, it was much inquired about and did
serious damage in some orchards. Fortunately, when the Apple Maggot once gets into
an orchard its spread is very slow. The mature flies apparently do not fly away to any
distance for the purpose of egg-laying, but confine their attention to the trees nearest
to the place from which they emerged. The female fly lays her eggs in the flesh of
the apple, by means of her sharp ovipositor. A single female may lay from 300 to
400 eggs, according to Quaintance. The eggs hatch within a week, and the maggots
become full-grown in from a month to six weeks. The maggot leaves the apple after
this has fallen to the ground and enters the earth just below the surface, where it
remains in the pupal stage until the following summer, when the fly emerges. As
the larve do not leave the fruit until this has fallen to the ground, all windfalls
should either be carefully gathered by hand or a herd of pigs should be allowed to
run in the orchard from July, when early apples which are specially susceptible to
attack begin to fall, until all fruit is gathered. Cattle and sheep are also useful for
such a purpose, and if allowed to pasture in the orchard, for a while, when the fruit
is falling, much good will be accomplished. If the windfalls are gathered and there
is no stock to feed them to, they should be buried in a deep hole with not less than
three feet of earth on the top. As the larve of the Apple Maggot work entirely
within the apple, it cannot be reached by any of the poison sprays such as are used
for insects which feed on foliage.

THE -Coptinc Motu, Carpocapsa pomonella L.—This insect was again reported
as being very destructive in many districts in Ontario and Quebec. Its injuries were
most apparent of course in,unsprayed orchards. Growers who had regularly sprayed
their trees with the poisoned Bordeaux mixture were well repaid for their labours.

1B

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

In Canada, east of Toronto, where there is usually only one annual brood, thorough
spraying with the above mixture, three or four times in spring, the first application
to be made within a day or two after the blossoms fall, and the subsequent sprayings,
each ten days apart, is a satisfactory and well-paying remedy for the Codling Moth.
West of Toronto there are two broods, the second of which is the more destructive.
It has been found that in addition to the:spring spraying, as above mentioned, it is
there necessary to band the trees with burlap, sacking, or some other material which
will form a refuge in which the caterpillars will spin their cocoons. These bands
should be removed at short intervals of a week or ten days, after about the middle of
July, at which time the caterpillars begin to spin their cocoons. The caterpillars
within the cocoons found may be destroyed by passing the bandages through a clothes-
wringer carried on a wheelbarrow. The bark beneath the band should be scraped
with a wire brush to kill any of the caterpillars which may have burrowed into the
bark.

The value of banding the trees has been demonstrated by many writers. In. 1908,
a small experiment was conducted in an apple orchard close to Ottawa, a part of
which showed infestation by the Codling Moth. Twenty trees were banded on August
45. The bands were removed and examined on the following dates, with the results

as mentioned :—
Cocoons found.

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The windfalls under these trees were left undisturbed until after the experiment
ended.

Tue Wuire-MarkeD Tussock Motu, Hemerocampa leucostigma S. & A. and the
Rusty Tussocx Morn, Notolophus antiqua L.—A large number of inquiries were
received from the Maritime Proyinces, chiefly from Nova Scotia, regarding these
insects. In most cases the letters were accompanied by the egg masses. Both of these
species, particularly the former, have been abundant in orchards in the above pro-
vinces for the last few years, and have in some instances been the cause of considerable
injury. The White-marked Tussock Moth is the more injurious and the better known
of the two, chiefly from its injuries to ornamental trees. In Montreal, Toronto, —
Kingston and other Canadian cities it has attracted much attention from its attacks
to shade trees, many being entirely denuded of their foliage by the caterpillars. These
insects were treated of at some length in the late Dr. Fletcher’s report for the year
ending March 31, 1908. The egg masses of these two Tussock Moths are quite different
in appearance. Those of the White-marked Tussock Moth are laid on or close to the
cocoon from which the female moth emerged and are covered with a frothy white
deposit, so that they cannot be seen without breaking up the mass. The eggs of the
Rusty Tussock Moth having no such frothy covering, are bare and easily distinguish-
able.

The remedies for these insects are the collection of the egg masses before
spring and the spraying of the trees with an arsenical poison as soon as the
young caterpillars are noticed. Orchards that are regularly sprayed with the poisoned
Bordeaux mixture will be kept free from the attacks of these and many other leaf-

eating insects.

62 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

CANKERWoORMS.—In 1908, Cankerworms did serious damage in many of the or-
chards in the Maritime Provinces. From Nova Scotia, particularly, many complaints
were received of the prevalence of these insects, correspondents claiming that the
injury had been very severe in many districts.

There are two kinds of caterpillars which attack apple trees, which are known as
Cankerworms, viz., the Spring Cankerworm and the Autumn Cankerworm. The
female moths of both kinds are wingless and have a very spider-like appearance.
Those of the Spring Cankerworm appear chiefly in spring and lay oval, pearly-white
egos, in itregular masses, beneath flakes of bark, &c. The moths of the Autumn
Cankerworm, on the other hand, appear late in the season (October and November),
and the females lay eggs which are brown, flattened at the top, like miniature tumblers
with caps on them, and stand close together in clusters of about 100 or more on the
outside of the bark. The males are delicate moths, with gauzy wings. The cater-
pillars of both species are slender brown, blackish, or green loopers, or ‘measuring
worms,’ about an inch in length when full grown, and with only six pairs of legs,
three pairs of which are on the front part of the body, the other three pairs at the rear.

The young caterpillars appear about the time that the leafbuds open, and at that
time the trees should be carefully examined, and, if any are found, the trees should
at once be sprayed with an arsenical poison. When the caterpillars are’small they are
very easily killed by the ordinary poisoned Bordeaux mixture, or by Paris green
1 pound in 150 gallons of water, or arsenate of lead 3 pounds in 40 gallons of water.
When they are more than half an inch long, however, they are very difficult to kill with
any such poisons. At such times, Dr. Fletcher recommended as much as one pound
of Paris green in 100 gallons of Bordeaux mixture, and that this latter should be made
with five pounds of lime to the four pounds of copper sulphate in the 40 gallons
of water.

As the female moths crawl up from the ground to deposit their eggs on the trees,
all trees in orchards where the Cankerworms have been destructive should be banded
in autumn and spring with one of the mechanical tree protectors, or the moths may
be prevented from climbing by being caught on bands of thick paper which have been
painted with an adhesive mixture, and tacked closely and firmly around the tree. A
mixture of castor oil two pounds and resin three pounds has been found satisfactory
for cold weather, but in hot weather it is necessary to add one more pound of resin.
These ingredients are heated slowly until the resin is all melted and the mixture is
then applied to the bands while it is warm. Another formula is five pounds of resin
and three pounds of castor oil for warm weather and equal parts by weight for cold
weather. As mentioned above, the most convenient way to apply these mixtures is
to paint them on bands of thick paper, but they may be applied to the tree without
injury to the latter. If this is done it is sometimes necessary to put on a second
coating if too much of the oil is absorbed by the bark. Printers’ ink five pounds,
mixed with one gallon of fish oil, is also much used in Nova Scotia, and the amount
mentioned will treat an acre of orchard.

The Chemical Division of the Dominion Experimental Farms recently carried on
some experiments in the hope of finding a more economical adhesive material which
could be used for such insects. Considerable progress was made, but the Chemist,
Mr. Shutt, has informed us that this work is not yet far enough advanced to make a
report upon. It is hoped, however, that when further experiments have been con-
dueted, some useful deductions may be made.

Tue Pear Lear Buster Mitre, Eriophyes pyri Nalepa.—This old enemy of the
pear is steadily spreading in the apple-growing districts of the southern portions of
Ontario. It occurs in every part of Canada where the pear is grown, but it is only of
late years that it has turned its attention to the apple, although in Europe it is well
known to attack that tree. During 1908, it was much complained of, and information
asked as to the best known remedy for its destruction.

REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 68

SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16

The Pear-Leaf Blister Mite, as its name implies, is not on insect, but a mite. It
is a microscopic creature, being only about 425 of an inch in length. Regarding the
life habits of these mites, Prof. Parrott, of the New York Agricultural Experiment
Station, says: ‘The mites spend the winter in the buds usually under the second and
third layers of bud-scales. They frequently collect in colonies of fifty or more in little
depressions in the scales and are more or less concealed and protected by the pubes-
cence of the buds. As the buds burst, the mites move to the unfolding leaves in which
they burrow and establish new colonies. In October the mites abandon the leaves and
hide in the buds.’

The irritation caused by the mites burrowing into the leaves from below, induces
the growth of galls, or blisters. Within the blisters the eggs are laid; these hatch in
a few days and the young mites feed upon the juices of the leaf. If the blisters are
examined closely, tiny openings will be seen; these are made by the mites on entering
and leaving the leaf. The chief injuries by the Blister Mite are to the leaves, but the
fruit stems and fruit are often attacked. Prof. Lochhead in writing of this pest, in
the Annual Report of the Fruit Growers’ Association for 1908, says: ‘The galls on
pear leaves are at first greenish, then reddish, afterwards bright red, and finally with
the death of the affected tissues, brown or black, often most conspicuous on the sides
of the midrib. When the mites are very numerous the injuries produce defoliation of
the trees. The colour of the galls on apple leaves is much less striking than that on
pear leaves. The galls are usually more abundant on the margins of the leaves, and are
at first greenish, soon becoming brownish, and only occasionally red. The coalescence
or merging together of several of the galls produce irregular-shaped dead areas, which
often rupture at the margin.’ Quoting from Prof. Parrott, he says: ‘ About July
first the most striking effects of the mites upon the leaves appear, especially if there
is much yellowing of the foliage, as frequently occurs. Upon the upper surfaces of
such leaves the mite-infested spots are of a light brown or of a dark green colour, and
are uniformly brown beneath. These spots are thickly massed, forming a dark, broad
band of irregular width along each side of the leaf, which contrasts cox aly
with the intervening light yellow area about the main rib. To one standi,
ground and viewing the leaves from beneath, this striping of the leave
suggestive of the variegated foliage of certain ornamental plants.’

The remedy for the Pear Leaf Blister Mite is to spray the trees with th.
sulphur wash just as the buds are swelling. Although the mites pass the winter hiac.
away securely beneath the bud-scales, the expanding of the buds in spring opens the
bud-seales sufficiently to allow the entrance of the spraying mixture.

DONATIONS TO COLLECTIONS OF INSECTS AND PLANTS.

Among the more important donations to the collections of insects and plants of
the ‘Division of Entomology and Botany, which have been made during the year ending
March 31, 1909, the following may be mentioned :—

J. R. Anderson, Victoria, B.C. Pressed botanical specimens of Delphiniwm
menziesit, and other interesting plants.

G. Chagnon, Montreal, Que. A fine specimen of the noctuid moth Graphiphora
furfurata.

Norman Criddle, Treesbank, Man. Many specimens of rare Manitoban lepidoptera.

Horace Dawson, Hymers, Ont. Specimens of arctian and noctuid moths of
special interest, taken at Hymers.

W. A. Dent, Sarnia, Ont. Seeds and living roots of Dioscorea villosa.

Rev. H. Dupret, Montreal. Fine specimens of Cherophyllum sativum, Anthriscus
cerefolium, &e.

Miss B. Green, Fairview, B.C. Several pressed botanical specimens, including
Pedicularis langsdorffit.

64 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910

A. W. Hanham, Duncans, B.C. Four boxes containing collections of lepidoptera,
coleoptera and hymenoptera, all in splendid condition, among which were many rare
specimens.

Rey. J. H. Keen, Metlakatlah, B.C. A good series of the rare Byrrid, one
pleuralis and other insects.

W. Metcalfe, Ottawa. Diptera and other insects collected in Ontario.

Mrs. D. W. Stewart, Renfrew, Ont. A botanical sheet of Medicago falcata.

Rey. G. W. Taylor, Nanaimo, B.C. Many specimens of lepidoptera, coleoptera,
hymenoptera and a named collection of neuropteroid insects, all from British Columbia.

Rey. Frere Victorin, Longueuil, Que. Pressed botanical specimens of Rubus
hispidus and Rubus permixtus.

E. P. Venables, Vernon, B.C. Specimens of hemiptera and other insects from
British Columbia.

J. B. Wallis, Winnipeg, Man. A fine series of Catocala coccinata, together with
acceptable noctuids, and named specimens of neuropteroid insects.

Miss E. Maude Warren, Kelowna, B.C. Living plant of Cypripedium occidentale
and botanical specimens of Wnothera muricata, Potentilla camphorum, and other
plants for the herbarium.

©. H. Young, Ottawa. Beautifully mounted specimens of micro-lepidoptera, some
of which have been only recently described.

THE APIARY.

The apiary is under the management of Mr. D. D. Gray, the farm foreman, whose.

report I append herewith. The practical work of handling and caring for the bees
has been done by Mr. OC. A. Burnside. It was thought best to reduce the number of
colonies in the apiary during the year, and some of the strong and healthy ones were
sold and the »umber on our stands was thus reduced to thirty-two.

al

REPORT OF APIARY FOR SEASON OF 1908-9.

to report a fairly successful year with the bees. The weather at the begin-

he season was much the same as in 1907—very wet and cold. The bees were

,u their summer stands on April 24, coming from their winter quarters in good
Micon.

They were put in the bee cellar in the fall of 1907, wats an average of 56-4
pounds each, and, when put out in spring of 1908, the weight was 38-6 pounds each,
having lost an average of 17-8 pounds per colony during the winter, somewhat higher
than most years. The first supers were put on on May 27 and the extractor was started
on July 9.

An effort was made to retard swarming as much as possible; there was, however,
an increase of ten swarms during the season, the first coming off on June 20.

The bees were put in the bee-cellar at the close of the season on November 6, all
the colonies weighing over 50 pounds each.

An experiment was carried on during the winter to get some data as to the
amount of air-space required to winter the colonies satisfactorily.

As there is yet practically a month before the bees go out, and this the most trying
month of the year, nothing definite can be said at present as to the state of the
‘colonies; all save one appear to be in good condition.

D. D. GRAY.

a

NO

SMITH
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