BIRDS.

During the invasion of the beetles in Chautauqua County, Mrs. H. M. Putnam of Fredonia, who is a student of bird life, observed a pair of cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum Vieill.) feeding extensively upon the insects. The pair returned several times to a sour cherry tree and during each visit they captured considerable numbers of the adults. With a pair of field glasses she was able to count over fifty beetles that were eaten by the birds. Notwithstanding the great abundance of the species, it is a singular fact that none of those who have carefully studied the cherry leaf-beetle ever had their attention directed to birds as important predatory enemies of this insect.

ARTIFICIAL CONTROL.

Since the larvæ do not feed on the foliage of cultivated fruits and the adults only are destructive, the experiments to devise efficient control measures were directed largely against the beetles. Special emphasis was placed on arsenicals and nicotine solutions. in these operations and the principal details of the different tests are as follows:

TEST NO. 1 WITH ARSENICALS.

The first experiments during 1915 for the control of the beetles were made on June 7 when they were first discovered at Fredonia. The tests were made on young cherry and peach trees which at that time were partially defoliated. The cherry trees were two years old from the time of planting and for the purpose of experiment were divided into two plats. Plat 1 was treated with a mixture of 2 pounds of dry arsenate of lead in 50 gallons of water, while Plat 2 was sprayed with a mixture of 4 pounds of paste arsenate of lime in 50 gallons of water. The trees were thoroly sprayed so as to wet all surfaces of the leaves. In addition a block of peach trees received an application of arsenate of lead as above for cherries.

A light rain occurred during the night. As many beetles continued to feed on the trees and the owner feared that the rain had washed off the poison, the plats were, without the author's knowledge, resprayed as before. An examination of the trees on July 9 showed that there were many dead beetles on the ground and that the work of defoliation had been effectively stopped. The cherry trees sprayed with arsenate of lime showed less infestation on July 9

than did the plat sprayed with arsenate of lead. In no instance was there any evidence of injury to the cherry foliage by arsenate of lime nor to peach foliage by arsenate of lead. It may be added that in none of the experiments during 1915 by the author was there any damage to peach foliage either by arsenate of lead or arsenate of lime, altho in several instances injury was reported by growers who used arsenate of lead.

TEST NO. 2 WITH AN ARSENICAL AND NICOTINE SOLUTION.

A rather extensive series of experiments for the control of the adults of the cherry leaf-beetle were made June 8-10, 1915, in the cherry and peach orchards of R. J. Paschke near Fredonia.

On June 8 three plats of trees that were fairly uniform in size were treated respectively as follows: Plat 1 received an application of pint of nicotine sulphate (40 per ct. nicotine) in 80 gallons of water; Plat 2 was sprayed with bordeaux mixture after the formula of 4-4-50, 3 pounds of paste arsenate of lead and 5 ounces nicotine sulphate. Plat 3 was sprayed with a mixture of 3 pounds of paste arsenate of lead, 2 quarts molasses and 50 gallons of water. All trees were thoroly sprayed in order to wet the upper and undersides of the foliage. Whenever nicotine solution was applied the beetles which dropped from the trees at the beginning of the treatment were afterwards thoroly sprayed while on the ground. This operation, it may be added, required the employment of larger quantities of spraying mixture but was effective.

An examination on June 9 of the trees in plats 1 and 2 showed many dead beetles on the ground with a corresponding decrease in the number of the insects on the trees. The trees in plat 3 were in a much less satisfactory condition as many beetles were feeding on the leaves and only a few had succumbed to the treatment. The trees sprayed with bordeaux mixture, arsenate of lead and nicotine solution presented markedly superior conditions as compared with the remaining plats. Altho the number of beetles killed was no larger, perhaps, than on the trees sprayed with nicotine solution alone, yet the number of insects feeding on the foliage was less than on the trees not receiving the combined treatment. The foliage sprayed with bordeaux mixture and arsenate of lead was thickly coated with the spray which appears, in addition to its toxic properties, to have acted as a repellent to the beetles. It should,

however, be added that the trees showed more infestation on June 10 than on June 9, due to the constant migration of beetles. Notwithstanding the re-infestation, the trees in each plat were, as a result of a single spraying, saved from defoliation altho considerable feeding occurred on the trees sprayed with molasses and arsenate of lead.

TEST NO. 3 WITH ARSENICALS.

On June 10 large Montmorency trees were thoroly sprayed with bordeaux mixture after the formula of 4-4-50, to which were added 3 pounds of paste arsenate of lime. Examination of the trees on June 11 showed excellent protection of the foliage, altho there was little evidence of insects having succumbed to the treatment. The freedom of the trees from the work of the insects appeared to have been due to the repellent properties of the mixture.

It is also important to note in this connection that the season of 1915 was very favorable for brown rot on cherries, owing to excessive rainfall and high humidity, but fruit on all trees sprayed with bordeaux, mixture was harvested for the most part in excellent condition while with untreated trees there was considerable rot.

TEST NO. 4 WITH ARSENICALS.

During the afternoon of June 10 a number of young peach trees were sprayed with bordeaux mixture after the formula of 4-4-50 and 3 pounds of paste arsenate of lead, while other trees were sprayed with bordeaux mixture with 3 pounds of paste arsenate of lime. The beetles were killed by either treatment and the foliage for the most part showed little evidence of further feeding by the insects. Spraying of peaches with bordeaux mixture is considered an unsafe practice and it should be noted that in these tests there was no evidence of leaf injury or of defoliation of the trees by either of the treatments.

TEST NO. 5 WITH VARIOUS INSECTICIDES.

A block of young cherry trees of the variety Montmorency belonging to Mr. D. B. Belden in Fredonia became severely infested with the leaf-beetle, and on June 10 this planting was divided into plats which were sprayed as follows: Plat 1, Pyrox, one pound to eight gallons of water; Plat 2, Insectine, one pint to fifty gallons of water; Plat 3, nicotine sulphate (40 per ct. nicotine) one pint to

eighty gallons of water; and Plat 5, nicotine sulphate, one pint to sixty gallons of water. All applications were very thoro, both surfaces of the leaves being drenched with the sprays. In applying the nicotine mixtures and Insectine special efforts were made to wet the insects with the spray. The tendency of the beetles to drop from the leaves before being wetted with the mixture showed the necessity of spraying them again while on the ground in order to allow none of them to escape. Insectine is primarily a poison, but it is, however, a combination of various insecticides and fungicides, containing some chemical substances that are toxic to insects by contact. It was to test the preparation as a poison and as a contact spray that the precaution of spraying the foliage as well as the beetles on the ground was observed.

All of the applications of the nicotine solution at different strengths killed many of the beetles; and from the numbers of dead insects. on the ground it appears that thoroness of treatment was of more importance than the dilution of the spraying mixture. A serious limitation of nicotine sprays is plainly indicated in this experiment they do not possess lasting toxic or repellent properties, so that trees treated with them are liable to be reinfested.

Many dead beetles were observed beneath the trees sprayed with Pyrox, and the numbers of the insects on the foliage was very small. The material appeared to exert a repellent effect in addition to its usual toxic action.

The trees sprayed with Insectine showed no dead beetles and the number on the foliage did not seem to be less than on untreated trees.

TEST NO. 6 WITH TREE TANGLEFOOT.

The discovery that the beetles lay their eggs at the bases of the trees and the belief that the larvæ would feed on the foliage led to the opinion that the adults might possibly be captured by adhesives. It seemed advisable to undertake experiments to prevent oviposition by the beetles and any movement by the larvæ.

On June 18 several large peach and cherry trees were treated with Tree Tanglefoot. This was applied in a band about five inches. wide, encircling the base, and was put either on the bark or on a band of muslin. The ground about the trees had been removed previously to eliminate any eggs that may have been present. The trees were mounded in such a manner that the ground covered about

half of the band of Tanglefoot, i. e., the earth extended one-half of the distance to the top of the band. Other trees were mounded after having all eggs removed but the Tanglefoot was omitted.

An examination of these trees, June 21, showed that many beetles had been captured by the Tanglefoot and that at this date no eggs. had been laid at the bases of the treated trees. In order to have more detailed data on the effect of the banding, the ground about two treated and two untreated trees was carefully examined on June 26 when counts were made of the eggs. The results of these counts are given in the following table:

TABLE XVII.- NUMBER OF EGGS OF THE CHERRY LEAF-Beetle on TREES TREATED WITH TREE TANGLEFOOT.

A general examination of the other treated and untreated trees indicated that similar conditions prevailed, and while these results are of interest in demonstrating what might possibly be accomplished by banding bird cherry trees in parks or arboretums, this method of protecting orchards from this insect is unnecessary since few if any of the larvæ are able to exist on the foliage of cultivated trees.

SUMMARY OF EXPERIMENTS.

Arsenate of lead at the rate of 4 pounds to 50 gallons of water or bordeaux mixture killed many of the beetles if care was exercised to cover the undersides of the foliage. The most lasting effect was secured by the use of arsenate of lead and bordeaux mixture.

Arsenate of lead and molasses in combination were not as effective nor did they possess the lasting properties of arsenate of lead with bordeaux mixture.

Arsenate of lime at the rate of 4 pounds to 50 gallons of water was apparently somewhat more efficient than arsenate of lead at similar proportions and there was no injury to the foliage of either cherry or peach. In combination with bordeaux mixture the arsenicals were equally effective.

Nicotine sulphate (40 per ct. nicotine) was found to be very effective when used as a contact insecticide at the rate of one pint with either 60 or 80 gallons of water or bordeaux mixture. One experi