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Dr. Allen, Mr. Knight, and Mr. Hooker, of the Experiment Station Record. Mr. Knight is Dr. Allen is editor in chief of the "Experiment Station Record.” librarian of this publication. Mr. Hooker has charge of revising all the entomolo- He is himself an entorno- gical publications for the " Experiment Station Record." logist interested in ticks, and desires to receive casual notes on the occurrence of ticks of native and introduced cattle, occurrence of Texas fever, and remedies used for the control of ticks in these islands.
Mr. G. A. Bellings, of the Division of Farm Investigation. This division has charge of a most interesting line of work. Each field officer is assigned to a section which may include an entire State, or more or less, according to the size of the State and the amount of work done. He visits the several districts of his section and advises farmers in the management of their farms. The first to be done is to attempt to get reliable figures as to yields, cost of production, &c., under the prevailing system, then to advise as to introducing new crops, establishing rotations, suggest- ing improvements in the tillage, manuring, in the methods of feeding, housing, and general care of stock, with expert advice as to the keeping of correct records which shall yield comparative figures on which to base estimates of the benefits to be derived from the improved agricultural methods. This struck me as being one of the most useful and practical lines of applied agriculture. One or two good demon- strations of this sort in any community must be productive of good results, and I was informed that in certain localities the owners of farms and large estates are only too ready to avail themselves of the services of experts to aid in the management of their properties. In the course of a few years the records of these management and investigation demonstrations will furnish most valuable data.
Mr. A. J. Jennings, Entomologist for the Panama Canal Zone. Mr. Jennings is attached to the medical rather than the agricultural side of entomological work, and is specially interested in the mosquito and fly situation, and the general and health problems of the Canal Zone.
I was greatly interested also in the new quarters of the entomological section of the United States National Museum, where I had an opportunity of seeing the style of cabinet and the method of arranging the collections. The insect fauna of the West Indies is well represented in the collections, and it would be well worth while if this Department could afford special efforts in collecting for the purpose of forwarding large sendings of material for identification, and for the purpose of acquiring the notes on West Indian groups of insects that it would be possible to get in this way.
H. A. BALLOU,
Entomologist.
REPORT On Visit to Florida by Mr. H. A. Ballou, M.Sc., Entomologist to the Imperial Department of Agriculture, October, 1910.
IMPERIAL COMMISSIONER,
On October 12 I left Washington at 4.5 p.m. by the Atlantic Coast Line train for Florida, arriving at Gainesville about 5.30 the next afternoon. The follow- ing day, the 14th, I went to the Florida State University, where I called on Professor P. H. Rolfs, Director of the Experiment Station, and met Professor H. S. Fawcett, plant pathologist, and other Experiment Station officers.
The new Experiment Station building was just being finished, and most of the Departments were getting settled in their new quarters. This building, being especially designed for the purpose, combines in a remarkable degree attractiveness and utility. The offices, laboratories, and photographic rooms are commodious and very well arranged.
I was very much interested in the work of the station in general, as well as along the lines of my special mission. One of the most interesting of these, and one which shows remarkable progress, is the improvement of the quality and yield of Indian corn (maize).
Professor Rolfs informed me that the average yield in the State was about 12-13 bushels per acre, but that crops of 100 bushels were often produced under When it is careful treatment, and the record yield was very much more than that. borne in mind that corn grown under Florida conditions, which yields not more than 15 bushels per acre, does not give a profit, these figures are remarkable. In Bulletin
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100, of the Florida Station, entitled Corn, by Professor P. H. Rolfs, the following figures are given :-
Yield of corn in Florida.
1908.-4,351,000 bushels at the rate of 10-5 bushels per acre. 1909.—8,379,000 bushels at the rate of 12'6 bushels per acre.
Value of principal crops in Florida, 1908.
Oranges, $4,221,000
Cotton, $3,653,000. (Sea Island and Upland.)
Corn, $3,409,000.
In a corn test in a number of counties in Florida in 1909 the corn exhibits were judged by a corn expert from Illinois. The exhibit which won first prize was awarded only 60 per cent. of the total marks indicated by the score-card. These figures show that corn is a crop of considerable value in Florida, in spite of the fact that the average yield for the whole State is lower than that at which the crop yields a profit. The larger yields are produced at a slightly greater cost per bushel, and the profits are very considerable when the yields approach the record figures given above. When it is remembered that only 60 per cent. of the score-card points have Leen achieved in some of the best yields, it will be seen that in spite of the improve- ment already made much remains to be done.
The figures relating to yield and general improvement are of special interest when compared with the conditions existing in certain of the West Indian Islands where large amounts of corn are imported, and where corn is planted as a catch crop, or one of minor importance. Good corn can be raised in these islands, and with the proper methods of improvement by selection, and of curing and storing, this crop might easily become one of much greater importance than at present.
Great activity is shown in the development of the cultivation of small fruits and vegetables for the northern market also. Certain districts raise certain crops, such as strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, musk-melons, water-melons, pine-apples, and Irish potatoes, some of which are coming into serious competition with the green- house and field crops of the north.
Citrus pests and their natural enemies.
The principal object of my visit was the study of the orange and grape fruit cultivations with special reference to the insect pests and their control by means of natural enemies.
I visited the towns of Gainesville, Deland, and Orlando in the order mentioned. Gainesville is the seat of the State University and Experiment Station, and is sufficiently far north to experience a degree of cold often inimical to successful orange cultivation. Orlando, on the other hand, about 100 miles further south, is in a very successful orange-growing district, and it is in this town that the United States Department of Agriculture, through its Bureau of Entomology, has estab- lished a station for conducting experiments in the control of the white fly. Deland lies some 40 miles north of Orlando.
In all my visits to the orange and grape fruit orchards I was accompanied by Professor H. S. Fawcett, Plant Pathologist to the Florida Experiment Station. The visits were planned in consultation with Professor P. II. Rolfs, the Director of the Station. Before proceeding to Florida I had written regarding my visit to Dr. Howard at Washington, who referred me to Dr. E. A. Back, in charge of the Federal Station at Orlando. Dr. Back was about to start on a trip to Cuba, but he advised me with regard to localities which might profitably be visited, which were the same as those suggested by Professors Rolfs and Fawcett, and an attempt was made to visit as many of these as possible in the time available. The distance to be travelled, and the difficulties of making good train connections in Florida make it impossible to accomplish as much as one would expect when not familiar with the conditions.
On the morning following my arrival in Gainesville I called on Professor Rolfs and discussed with him and Professor Fawcett the objects of my visit and the locali- ties which would be likely to afford good examples of the control of pests of citrus trees by means of natural enemies, and arrangements were made for visiting Deland and Orlando, after seeing what there was of interest in this connection in Gaines-