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Psyche 4:133-134, 1883.

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January-February 1884.J PSYCHE. 183
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., JAN.-FEB., 1884.
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Communications, . exchanges and editors' copiss should be addressed to EDITORS OF PSYCHE, Cam. bridge, Mass. Communications for publication in PSYCHE must be properly af~tItenticated, and no anony- mous articles will bepu!,ZisI,ed.
Editors and contributors are only responsible for t?!~ statements made in their own communications. Works on subfecfs not related to entomolo~vy will not ie reviewed in PSYCHE.
For rates of subscription and of advertiswig-, see cid- nertisiwg columns.
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PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
CAMBRIDGE ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB.
(Continued from p. rib.)
11 MAY 1883.-The 931-d meeting of the
Club .was held at 19 Brattle Square, Cam- bridge, 11 May 1883. In the absence of the President. Mr. S. H. Scudder was chosen
Chairman. Three members were present.
The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. The additions to the library of the Club were unnounced by the Secretary. Mr. R. Hayward exhibited a specimen of
C&laenins tomentosns taken at Milton, Mass., which varied strikingly from the common
form of this insect.
Mr. S. H. Scudder showed a collection of colored figures of insects drawn by Major J. E. LeConte. These figures were a continua- tion of the collection which was exhibited at the last meeting.
Mr. S. H. Scudder described the habits of Myrweco$hila and gave a history of speci- mens previously mentioned as from America. Living specimens of young M. $exandi,
taken among ants under bark, at Washing- ton, D. C., were shown.
Mr. S. H. Scudder called attention to the 'eleventh part of W. H. Edwards' "Butterflies of North America" and showed specimens of eggs and larvae of Lemonias naif.
Mr. G. Dinimock described a mode of
mounting eggs of insects, or other small ob- jects, for the collection, in such a way that they may be examined easily with the micro- scope. The eggs or other objects are mount- ed in rings of cork between two thin cover- glasses such as are used for microscope slides. Thus mounted, and sealed with black lac or other means, the specimens can be pinned in the collection with safety and neatness. Specimens can be mounted in Canada balsam in these cork rings, in the way described by Cameron (Proc. nat. hist. soc. Glasgow, 1881- 1882, v. 5, pt. I, p. 4-7). who used, however, paper in place of cork. Cork is lighter than paper, is more convenient for pinning, and can be cut easily into rings of different sizes with a cork-borer such as is used in chemical laboratories. If circ~ilar cover-glasses are used the cells can be sealed neatly on a tiirn- table for preparing microscope slides. Speci- mens illustrating several styles of mounting were shown.
Mr. A. F. Foerste communicated (through
the Secretary) a note upon the fluid thrown out by Aftacits luna just after it emerges from the chrysalis.
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BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHIKGTON.
14 DEC. 1883. -. . . A paper by Dr. C : V. Riley on "The use of napthaline [sic] in medicine and as an insecticide," was read for Dr. ~iley, in his absence, by Dr. W : S. Bar- nard. It was in the main abstracted from Dr. Ernst Fischer's "Das naphtalin in der heilkunde und in der landwirthschaft . . . . 1883." Naphthalin [CinHa] 'was first made in 1808. Nothing was said by Dr. 'Ri'ley of its use in medicine. Its use as a substitute for camphor, for killing museum pests, was sug- gested in 1840. Placed in insect boxes, it kills acari and psoci, but not other museum pests. Experiments were made with it against PhyZ- loxera v+foliae in 1872. Fischer began ex-



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perirnenting with it in 1881. It is a better in- secticide and cheaper in its crude form than when pure, but is more injurious to plants in [ January-February 1884.
that form.
It has been applied to grape vines
by pouring a kilogram of it in a trench from 35 to 20 cm. deep near the stock of the vine, and then filling the trench with earth.
Dr. T: Taylor said that he had recom-
mended the use of naphthalin for killing phylloxera nbout ten years ago. and promised to read a paper on the subject at the next meeting of the society. He had not placed the substance in the ground.
Dr. W: S. Barnard said that naphthaiin
might prove valuable as an insecticide; if made cheap enough and so applied as not
to injure the plants. He had devised a
method and apparatus by which those in~ect- icides which are dangerous to plants, such as kerosene, cyanide of potassium [KCN], and bisulphide of carbon [CS;], might be used so as to be safe for the plants and de- structive to insects in the ground. These substances have usually been applied on the surface of the ground
or buried shaliowiy,
either amongthe roots or above them, but when brought in contact with the roots, in strength, they kill them. When applied in volatile form they are not so injurious, Naph thalin and kerosene especially should be placed deep below the roots. The*appar- atus, which Dr. Barnard names a "nether- inserter." consists of a tube which is made to fit closely around a central solid shaft somewhat long?r than the tube and pointed at its lower end. The tube may have an
internal diameter of 15 mm. and the shaft a diameter of 12 nun. The upper end of the tube expands like a bowl. The upper por- tion of the shaft is weighted with it heavy ball so disposed that the shaftcan be grasped above the ball. Vy withdrawing this shaft partifilly from the tube and then returning it with force. as the lower end of the tube rests on the ground, both tube and shaft can be driven into the ground to any required depth. The shaft is then wholly withdrawn and the insecticide poured into the tube, by which means it is placed beneath the roots without coming in contact with them.
The
tube is then withdrawn, and the hole made by it filled with earth. The insecticide, being volatile, rises through the ground and be- comes diffused. With this method of appli- cation kerosene is probably superior to naph- thaiin.
28 DEC. 1883. . . . -DR. T :Taylor read a pa- per "On naphthaline [sic]. its effects on seeds, plants, insects and other animais," describing the results of experiments made by him in 1872 and since. He found that its vapor pro- duced asphyxia in various degrees in different ilnirnals- Winged Phylloxera vitifoliae were killed almost instantly. Aphides succumbed readily when confined with the vapor. Co- leoptera resisted its effects several days. Imagoe of Doryjhoya deCemlweata died in
ten days, but recovered if sooner brought into fresh air. Females of Calh'phora vom- ioria aborted their eggs and then recovered. Flies, bees and wasps were anaesthetized, but recovered if soon brought into fresh air. Ants and termites were killed by the vapor, or were driven away if free to depart.
Crick-
ets, roaches, locusts and other insects were driven away. Rats and mice were driven
away, and frogs were rendered torpid. Earth worms were driven out of the ground and
killed by placing naphthalin in the bottom of a flower-pot where the worms occurred. Insects infesting seeds were killed by enclos- ing the seeds in jars with naphthalin. Seeds enclosed with naphthalin for two years after- wards germinated, though the odor of ihe naphthalin was as strong at the end of that time as at the beginning. Three tender
plants were kept in an atmosphere of naph- tlialin vapor for thirty-six hours causing a single leaf on two plants to wilt, and not affecting the third plant. One hour was
sufficient to' kill the insects on the plants. Naphthalin acts more powerfullywhen n~oist-



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