Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-17


" and worked his way"
W. through college, sup
" porting himself and
". r. LAzENBY paving his expenses by
the work he did on farms in the neighborhood.
As soon as he graduated he was appointed to a
professorship in his alma mater. He has writ
ten much on scientific subjects allied to
agriculture, and having become inter-
ested in the agricultural experiment
stations Of Europe, he drafted bill which
resulted in the establishment of the expert
ment station in Geneva, n. Y, one of the first
of such ventures in America. He went to
Ohio and organized that states experiment
station. Two years ago he severed his connec-
tion with this station and since has devoted his
whole attention to the Ohio State University
and to his literary works. He is member
and officer in many agricultural and scientific
societies, including the Association of Teachers
of Agriculture and Horticulture, the Micro
scoplcal Society and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science.
Many Of the forty members Of this society
are also members of the chronological Associa-
tion. For this reason the agriculturists did not
begin their meeting till the entomologists ad-
Journed at o'clock this afternoon.
PROF. COOKS TWO PAPERS.
After Prof. Lazenby had briefly opened the
session Prof. A. J. Cook, the distinguished
Michigan entomologist, read his contribution,
Chafer" and ''Bees and Fertilization.'
The first paper dealt with the destruction of
the insect pest known the rose chafer," of
which Prot. Cook said that it was the most de-
structive beetle in the country. Though called
a rose chafer, this bug does its greatest damage
to peaches, grapes and other fruits. In New
Jersey and Michigan it is especially destructive.
Prof. Cook advanced three methods of fighting
the bugs. The first was deluging the trees with
hot water, thus killing the bugs; the second,
sprinkling the trees with kerosene emulsion,
and the third, using pyrethro- kerosene emul-
sion. The two emulsions are made of kerosene,
soap and water, and to the latter preparation,
which the professor advocates, a poison is
added. These conclusions were drawn from an
elaborate course of experiments conducted at
the Michigan Agricultural College.
BEES AS FERTILIZERS.
"Bees as Fertilizers" Prof. Cooks second
paper. was pretty exposition of how the little
busy bee does almost as much for nature as for
himself. Instead Of robbing flowers of their
honey, the professor showed they enrich the
flowers and max, the fruits and seeds perfect
instead of imperfect. This is done, as pointed
out by Prof. Darwin many years ago, by the
mixing of the pollen Of various flowers When
there Is no such mixture Of pollen the fruit or
seed from the unfertilized blossoms is sure to
be imperfect. He gave many illustrations bear
ing out the theory. For instance, he said that
when clover was introduced into New Zealand
no seed could be raised from it till bees had
also been imported. Without the bees aid the
pollen Of the blooms was not mixed and the
ripened blooms produced no seed. Flower
gardeners all keep bees when they are raising
flower seeds. In green houses where flower
seeds are grown bees always have to be kept.
Fruit growers have found that Unless bees or
other insects about when the trees are
in bloom, the crop is a poor one. All insects
aid in this work. The bees, being harder. are
out earlier in the spring than other
insects, which sometimes are kept away
by the cold till the fruit trees are through plos-
soming. When perfect fruit is to be raised at
experimental stations, if bees are not at hand,
this mixing of pollen is done artiicially. He
told how while conducting his experiments
some of the punches of blooms had been
covered with thin cloth SO the bees could not
reach them. From these blooms either no
fruit at all or very inferior fruit grew. The OBJ
ject Of Prof. Cooks paper was to point out the
fact that farmers in sprinkling their fruit trees
with poisoned spray to kill the apple worms are
killing the bees that are SO necessary to full
fruitage. This sprinkling to kill the injurious
worms and insects should never be done while
the trees or plants are in bloom.
PROF. FORBES PAPER ON THE cHINcH BUG.
A long paper by Prof. Forbes on "a Bacterial
Disease of the Chinch Bug" was read by title
only, Prof. Forbes being absent The "chinch
bug is an insect that ruins thousands Of
bushels Of wheat every year, and Prof. Forbes
paper was devoted to describing how q
meteorological disease has been introduced by
which the bug il rapidly killed. Entomologist
c. " Riley read two papers on "The Kerosene
Emulsion and Its Increasing Usefulness" and
'.The OK Bot Fly in the United States" Other
papers to be read before this society are a.
follows:
orHEa PAPERS TO BE BEAD.
By J. O. Arthur, "A Physiological Basis for
the Comparison Of Potato Production" W. J.
Beal, ''The Description Of Varieties Of Straw
berries and Raspberries;" 7. J. Burril, "An
Additional Note on Potato Rot" G. C. Cald-
we'll, "a Symposium on Maize;" W. Frear,
''Ihe Composition and Digestibility Of the Nj
ture Grasses" b d. Halsted, Soaking Seed
Beans to Check Anthracnose." and Eastern
and Western Weeds;" E. W. Hilgard, "Sol Ex-
animation and Soil Maps;"L. o. Howard, '.North-
ward Spread Of Tropical Injurious Insect"
r. G. Kedzie, ''Soil Extract in Relation to De-
velopment Of Tubercles on Clover Roots" T.
v. Munsou, ''The Relative Dates of Towering
of Some Varieties Of Prunus, and Their Inn
portance to Practical Plum Growers" J. A.
Myers, "Residues Left in the Centrifuge;" G.
6. Plumb, ''The Influence Of the Mechanical
Condition of Food upon Meat Production"
J. w. Sanborn, ..Something About Ensilage;"
NJ. A. Scovell, ''The Babcock Milk Tester agt.
the Churn Test;" W. E. Stone, ''The Digesti-
bility Of the Pentose Carbohydrates" NJ Whit
ney, "The Structure Of Soils and the Circula-
ton of Soil Moisture;" H.W.Wiley, 1.-The Extent
and Composition Of the Muck Sole of Florida:"
B. T. Galloway, 'Results Of Some Experiments
Made in 1891 in the Treatment Of Plant Dis
eases" W. J. Green, "a Solution Of Arsenic
and Copper a. Fungicide and Insecticide,"
and Results OF Treatment Of Raspberry An
thraenose;" 7. D. Hunt, Effect Of Food Upon
the Quality Of Butter" NJ Miles. Energy a.
mel, Conditions Which Modify the Appear
ancs Of Parasitic Fungi in Plants;" L. Papa
relli, 'sOlivs OIL Adultsrstions;' L. r Taft,
''Fungicides for the Apple 'Scab." (Thess last