Report. The two might be prefaced with a memoir of his life, accompanied by a steel portrait, and an appendix of such of his correspondence with noted men, as would be found pertinent, might be added at the end. With the proper editorial management and assistance, such a work would not only prove a lasting monument to Mr. Walsh's name, but it would be a credit to the State, and a great boon to the cultivators of the soil for all time to come!

TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS.

The death of our associate will necessitate some change in the character of this journal. Instead of the thought and experience of two individuals we shall strive to freight it with a diversity of opinion, and to this end we solicit communications from our numerous readers, both scientific and practical. We have already, in closing the first volume, announced our intention to pay liberally for all communications that we publish. We make this change in the character of the AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST the more willingly, that we deem it a great fallacy to suppose, that because an individual becomes an editor, he therefore constitutes himself a dictator of opinion. We gave this journal a national name for the very reason that we wished it to bear a national character. It is devoted to the Entomology of the whole country and not merely to that of the particular locality where the editor resides.

By studying to counteract the injuries caused by noxious insects; by illustrating the ever interesting phases of insect life, and by close attention to scientific accuracy, we hope to make it invaluable and indispensable, first, to the practical farmer, fruit-grower or gardener, who is seeking for relief from the scourge of insect pests which injuriously affect his crops; secondly, to the popular student of natural science, and lastly, to the purely scientific man. The publishers will spare no means to make the paper attractive in appearance, and the editor can safely promise to spare no labor to make its contents interesting and instructive. Let the readers but put forth a little effort to properly support it by inducing their neighbors to subscribe, and they themselves shall reap the benefit. We already have the promise of contributions from many able writers on Entomology, and in this connection we would remind our practical readers, that they should not defer sending for publication the results of their experience and observation, because they are not

able to rattle off the scientific names of the insects they write about. We shall always be glad to determine the particular species which accompany communications, and to make any other suggestions that may be found necessary.

THE WALSH ENTOMOLOGICAL COLLECTION.

Mr. Walsh's last will was executed about two years ago, and though in this will he dwells minutely and expressively on almost everything that could possibly be made to cause trouble to Mrs. Walsh-even to stipulating that no funeral outlay should be incurred beyond that necessary to decent burial-yet no disposition whatever is made of his Entomological Collection. His wife is made sole executrix of his affairs, and the disposal of the cabinet consequently rests with her. For our own sake, and for the sake of the numerous scientific friends of the deceased, who in future years would like to refer to this collection, either in person or through us, we were naturally anxious to secure the cabinet. We were conscious, however, that the State of Illinois had some claim to it, and knew furthermore that it was Mr. Walsh's strict intention to prepare for that State a duplicate collection from it. We therefore, in our efforts to obtain it, besides making a cash offer, pledged ourselves so far to carry out Mr. Walsh's intentions as to prepare this duplicate collection for the State of Illinois. Whether or not we secure the collection, will depend on whether Mr. Wm. B. Pettit, who now has charge of Mrs. Walsh's affairs, receives a higher bid than ours; for we understand that it is to be sold to the highest bidder. We should not grieve if Louis Agassiz procured it, because it would then fall into the hands of Dr. Hagen, who was one of our associate's dearest friends, and who is moreover well able to appreciate, take care, and make proper use of it. Nor should we greatly lament if it fell into the hands of Mr. E. T. Cresson, of Philadelphia, Pa., for there it would also be appreciated, and be of service to the world. But we are averse to its going East at all, for the reason that Mr. Walsh was essentially a Western man, and was well aware himself of the difficulties under which the student of Natural History labored in the Western States, for the lack of just such collections to refer to. The State of Illinois can certainly afford to pay Mr. Pettit as large a sum as can any individual or any society, and we confidently expect, and sincerely hope that the Governor will see that it is secured. We would also counsel Mr. Pettit not to act rashly in

disposing of it to other parties, because it is stipulated in the law, that the State Entomologist shall prapare a collection of the insects of the State to be deposited in the Museum of the Industrial University at Champaign. Action

in this matter should not long be deferred by the State, for without the attention of some one who understands taking care of such a collection, it will soon be rendered valueless by fungoid growths, mites, Dermestes, and other museum pe-ts.

There are probably eight or ten thousand species in the collection-most of them duplicated. They are mounted on the short English pins, for Mr. Walsh hated the very sight of, and never would adopt our modern Entomological pins, which he termed "German skewers." The specimens are all well dried, however, and remarkably well set. Let us hope that they will fall into such hands that they shall be preserved for centuries to come, and redound to the honor and credit of him who toiled so arduously and yet so willingly to collect them— that long after we have followed their first owner, and have entered the Portals of Eternity with him, these insects may remain a lasting monument to his name, and that they may never become lost to the world, as have those of Thomas Say, and already some of those of T. W. Harris!

A STATE ENTOMOLOGIST FOR MINNESOTA.

We are pleased to learn that at the late meeting of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society in Rochester, Minn., resolutions were passed earnestly recommending the Legislature to provide for the appointment of a State Entomologist. We hope their recommendations will be heeded, and that other States will soon follow the good example. Every State in the Union is cursed with some noxious insects peculiarly its own, and the greater the number of workers in the field, the more quickly shall we become masters of the situation. It is really surprising that in a great agricultural country like ours, subject to such serious insect depredations, so few of the States have appropriated the pittance necessary to the prosecution of proper Entomological studies!

We have to thank our numerous friends for their kind letters of condolence and sympathy in the loss of our associate. The many words of encouragement received will do much to lighten the task that falls upon us.

Now is the time for all those whose subscriptions expire with the first of the year, to renew. Those who appreciate our efforts should strive to send along with their own, the name of some one or other of their neighbors. The effort costs nothing, and besides that satisfaction which every right-minded man feels in imparting to others useful knowledge, there is the reward which comes of having careful neighbors who fight their own insect enemies, and thus make it easier for you to subdue yours.

There is yet a vast and unexplored field for the Entomologist in the South. Our Southern brethren suffer from some of the most grievous inset foes, and their insect fauna is rich and diversified. We consequently take pleasure in announcing, that Mr. J. Parish Stelle, of Savannah, Tenn., is at work in the field, and will continue to send us the "Southern Notes" which he has commenced in this number.

As the insect world is now, for the most part, wrapt in its hyperborian slumber, there are not very many questions for the "Answers to Correspondents" department; and as those questions which we have on hand do not require immediate attention, we defer answering them till next month, in order to make room for other matter.

To all persons interesting themselves in the AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST We will allow twenty-five cents on every dollar, on all over five names which they send.

Remember, that every one who sends us five subscribers to the AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST, is entitled to an extra copy free of charge!

LOCUSTS IN INDIA.

The recent foreign mails bring information that a cloud of locusts of incredible volume has lighted upon the fairest portion of the western provinces of India, which were previously depended upon to make up for the recent famine, and restore plenty to dependent millions. Rice advanced twenty-five per cent. on the appearauce of this plague, while a gloom has settled upon the country in anticipation of the destruction of all vegetation wherever they might alight. It is hoped that these destroyers may be speedily destroyed themselves by the wind that sometimes carries them into the sea, or the calamity must reach a fearful height, and tax all the resources of the government to mitigate it.-Hearth and Home.

ON OUR TABLE.

Dr. J. T. C. Ratzeburg's great works on "Forest Trees, their Diseases and Insect Enemies," and his work on "Weeds of Germany and Switzerland"-Die Waldverderbniss (23 Thaler, gold); Die Standortsgewachse und Unkrauter Deutschlands und der Schweitz (44 Thaler); and Die Waldverderber und Ihre Feinde (4 Thaler).- Some time since we received from L. Agassiz, through Dr. Hagen, of Cambridge, the foregoing splendid German works for inspection and notice. These works have not their equal in the English language, and with their superb illustrations and vast fund of most desirable information, they should have a place in the library of every college where the German language is taught. We would especially call the attention of the presidents of our different agricultural colleges to these works. The price of the three will probably cost over $40.00 in America; but, in order to introduce them into this country, the author has offered, through his booksellers, to make a liberal deduction when more than one set is ordered, and Dr. H. Hagen, of Cambridge, Mass., has consented to receive subscriptions. The books were accompanied with the following notice from the pen of the last named gentleman, which we gladly make room for, as it contains valuable suggestions, and we have ourselves only found time to hastily glance over the works:

Wood, and forests which produce wood, form almost as important a part of the natural wealth of a country as do metals, coal, and other minerals. In some views wood is even the more important article, since without wood no culture is possible or imaginable. Wood cannot in all cases be replaced by iron or other bodies. Hence, we find that the regions which are entirely or in part destitute of wood never attain to a cultivated condition (large tracts of Africa, Asia, etc.), while, on the other hand, a superabundance of forests forms an impediment to cultivation, as in many parts of America. It is only after the removal of this excess that cultivation progresses rapidly. Where nature offers riches in great abundance, there the due standard of appreciation becomes lost; and any one who has seen how the Mississippi steamers, as well as the railroads in the East and West, are often fed with timber that is valuable for all purposes, will admit that this is an abuse, or, in other words, that expensive materials are thus wasted. Every waste, however, brings Its consequence, and in time necessitates a supply at high rates. There can be no doubt that in a country densely covered with pristine woods, the clearing must precede cultivation, and this clearing has to be carried on in the most rapid and most destructive manner, in order to prove profitable for the moment. But then, afterwards a period is sure to arrive when a stop has to be put to that devastation, in order to forestall want. There can be no

doubt that, in America, that time has come, or has even been transgressed, though the fact has not yet become very palpable, for the reason that from other parts, which are still well timbered, plenty of wood can as yet be temporarily imported. A cessation of this destructive practice is to be anticipated from an increasing cheapness of coal as fuel for manufactories, railroads, and steamboats; but this cessation will come too late, in part, and generations to come will be sensibly affected thereby; for it is a well known and very important fact that the same kind of timber that existed on a tract once cleared, cannot be immediately produced again. Nature has managed it so that quite a number of processes of vegetation have to be gone through with before the original trees of the primeval forest can resume their rights. Under the tropics, as well as in high northern latitudes, this change is wrought in the course of a few generations, but in the intermediate temperate zones a much longer time is required. Moreover, the species that immediately succeed those which were cut down are always such as furnish inferior wood. In America, which is endowed by nature with a great number of species which afford the best wood for technical purposes, this fact, no doubt, becomes the more impor tant. It appears to me that the very excellence of American wood has essentially contributed to the rapid advancement of civilization. A great number of skilled pursuits are thereby essentially favored, since the firmness and durability of its material admit of a delicacy and care in their elaboration which, in Europe, is rendered impracticable through the imperfection of their wood.

Add to this another circumstance-one which makes this discussion suitable for the purposes of an entomological paper:

So long as nature alone is operating, it very rarely (or perhaps never) occurs, that extensive damage to plants and trees is wrought by insects or other animals. It is only after the natural relations are altered by human agencies, as, e. g., by the burning down or clearing of entire tracts, or by a subsequent compulsory forestculture, that noxious insects are multiplied in excess, and require the energetic attention and interference of mankind. We have lately had abundant proof of this in Germany. The well-known Pine Bombyx (Lombyx Monacha) had been harmless for about fifty years, when, in 1852, it reappeared. For three years little attention was paid to it, and interference was not attempted until it had become too late. The result can only now, after the termination of the calamity, be fully estimated. From the Ural mountains through the entire width of Russia and Poland, and onward into the interior of Prussia, 175,000 square miles were, in those years, infested, and 55,000,000 cords of wood destroyed. In East Prussia alone (of the size of the State of Massachusetts) 7,000,000 cords. I was myself an eye-witness to interminable trains of butterflies on their way in search of new breeding-places. In several cases they passed over sounds of fifteen miles' breadth in search of intact forests.

I believe that, in America, there exists no independent literature on this subject, and no observations are on record. But it is quite plain that the experience of other countries can be made available. The climate of Europe is, in many respects, very similar to that of the most richly wooded northerly States of the Union. The

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trees belong to the same genus, and several of the species are exceedingly similar to European ones. It is, hence, quite probable that many of the insects injurious to our forests are also quite nearly allied to those of Europe. In Europe, there are the excellent works of Professor Ratzeburg, who, in his capacity of superintendent of a foresters' university, has conducted his observations with untiring energy for forty years. His latest works contain his experience in a condensed form. In the Waldverderbniss," etc., may be found all that the celebrated author has elicited concerning the growth and damage done to our trees through the agency of insects and other animals. Numerous woodcuts in the text, and sixty-one plates of excellent execution, adorn this work. It is highly interesting to see, in the figured portions of the forest, how the injury done by insects has changed the entire character of the landscape. The physiological parts, based on microscopical studies, abound in new facts. The healing process that the diseased or injured trees go through, has not only a scientific interest, but also directly concerns the proprietor.

Ratzeburg's works possess the advantage of being almost entirely made up of personal observation, though the author has also considered the contemporaneous and past literature on the subject. Their greatest, and as I think, most important value for America, however, consist in this: that they all put the practical point in the foreground. It is not merely theoretical instruction which is there given, but it is positively money; for it either saves or makes money.

The sixth edition of his "Waldverderber" (Hurtful Insects: Berlin, 1869. $400, gold,) with ten excellent plates, gives, in a popular fashion, a good and instructive account of such animals as interest the farmer, the forester, and the entomologist, and it is the best work of this kind.

Closely connected with the above is an older work of his- Die Unkracuter" (The Weeds), treating of one of the most important and interesting subjects for the agriculturist. I will here remark that more than twothirds of the named weeds cover also the entire north of America, west to the Mississippi, and even farther

west.

Ratzeburg's works are, no doubt, of the highest-of the greatest importance. It is my opinion that they ought not to be found missing in the library of any university, school of agriculture, or similar institution. To the observing entomologist, they are positively indispensable, and for such the world-wide celebrity of the author renders every recommendation superfluous.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN.-From W. W. Daniells, Prof. of Agriculture and Analytical Chemistry.

LIST OF THE NESTS AND EGGS OF BIRDS IN THE MUSEUM OF THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Information wanted-M. A. Kendall, Fitzurilliam, N. H.-1st: The insects seen by you last summer, darting so quickly and noiselessly among the flowers of your lilacs, were, judging from your description, the gigantic Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa carolina, Linn.) You will find it figured and described on page 9 of our first volume. If you will send us specimens next year, we can decide positively; otherwise not. 2d: The "waspish looking thing" on the left hand side of our cover, is the of a long-tailed Ichneumon fly which may be popularly called the Lunate Rhyssa (Rhyssa lunator, Fabr.) It is one of the largest of our Ichneumon flies, and attacks certain wood-boring larvæ, and especially those of the Pigeon Tremex (Tremex columba, Linn.), which infest our elms and sycamores. By means of its long ovipositor this large Ichneumon fly is enabled to reach the wood-borer in its hidden retreat, and to deposit an egg in its body. The larva hatching from this egg eventually destroys the original wood-borer. 3d: The odd looking insect at the right of our cover, is the of the common Stick-bug (Spectrum femoratum, Say), a vegetable-feeder of sluggish movements. It receives its popular name from the remarkable habit which it has of stretching forward its two front legs and its antennæ, in the manner represented in that figure. It often remains a long time motionless in this position, so that it in reality looks very much like a dead stick growing from the tree or shrub upon which it happens to be. Its scientific name refers to the immensely swollen middle thighs of the . For a fuller account of this singular insect, see Vol. I, p. 58.

Insects named-Jos. E. Chase, Holyoke, Mass.No. 1, Tetropium cinnamopterum, Kirby. Nos. 2 and 3, varieties of No. 1. No. 4, Boros unicolor, Say. No. 5, Saprinus pennsylvanicus, Payk. No. 6, Tenbrio molitor, Linn. No. 7, Philonthus blundis, Grav. No. 8. Haltica nana, Say. No. 9, Harpalus - No. 10, Colas

tus unicolor, Say. No. 11. Brachys ovata, Lec. No. 12, Prionus imbricornis (small dimorphous form). No. 13, Photinus neglectus, Lec. No. 14. Bryacantha 10pustulata, Melsh. No. 15, Haltica (Phyllotreta) striolata, Illig. No. 16, Noda parvula, Dej. ?ovata, Say. No. 17, Chalcophana convexa, Say. No. 18, Pediacus subglaber, Lec. No. 19, Aphrastus taniatus, Say. No. 20, Calligrapha multipunctata, Say. No. 21, Clytus leucoyonus, L. and G. No. 22, Listroderes. No. 23, Galcophana picipes, Oliv. No. 24, Galeruca haunatica, Lec. No. 25, Suprinus assimilis, Er. No. 26, Hpdrocharis obtusatus, Say. No. 27, Colymbetes biguttalus, Say. No. 28, Hydrophilus glaber, Hbst. No. 29, Berosus fraternus, Lec. No. 30, Podabrus rugulosus, Lec. We are indebted to Dr. Geo. H. Horn of Philadelphia, for the proper determination of several of the above named insects.

Discase in Wheat-A. L. Child, M. D.-We regret to say that the ears of wheat which you sent last summer, were retained so long in the publishers' office that nothing could be made of them when they were handed to us. In writing upon business matters always address the publishers, but in writing on editorial matters, or in sending specimens, you should as invariably address the editor.