I forward Prof. Riley's reply to specimens of insects sent to him, and you will please observe he recommends the use of hellebore :

"U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Division of Entomology, Washington, D. C, April 27th, 1886.

"Mr. Duncan Rhind:

"Dear Sir - The specimens you sent with your last favor are not Phylloxeras, but belong to the family known as Leaf-hoppers (Tettigoniidae). The particular species is Erythroneura vitifex Fitch, popularly known as 'Thrips,' and often greatly injurious to the foliage of grapevines, especially in graperies. Application of hellebore is a good remedy and has often been recommended for this insect; but there are a number of other remedies known, e. g., dusting with lime, or syringing with strong tobacco water, or soap-suds, or diluted kerosene emulsion, etc., or fumigating with tobacco. The latter remedy can, of course, only be applied successfully in graperies.

"Respectfully, " C. V. Riley, Entomologist".

The hellebore remedy is recommended in E. B. Ellwanger's "Book on the Rose," as the rose thrips and grape thrips are only different species of the same family. The thrips eats the poison or the poison eats the thrips, which amounts to the same thing. However, 1 have used strong tobacco water successfully for years on roses outside for thrips; but hellebore for the slug.

In answer to "Cultivator's" suggestion that thrips is the result of insufficient moisture in our graperies, I would state that the facts do not bear out the inference. One of the graperies which I referred to in my former letter had a man (so the gardener told me) continually syringing the vines. Of course he prevented them from multiplying rapidly. His supply of water gave out, and his vines were the worst infected of any I saw. Now, had he syringed once, twice, or thrice daily, according to the weather, and kept his borders always moist, I presume he would have had enough water to carry him through the season, and of course used some other remedy for thrips.

"Cultivator" combines red spider and thrips as existing under the same conditions, which would lead one to infer that he means thrips adonidum, which is frequently found on Azaleas and several other greenhouse plants, often along with red spider; which, if so, is altogether a different insect, and foreign to the present article. As to his persistent advocacy of the sulphur cure, as directed by him in a general sweeping way, most all the graperies infected are mere glass structures without any manner of heating apparatus. How then could we apply sulphur to hot-water pipes?

Further, I should like to know who the practical gardener is who would go to the expense and labor of getting a boiling heat once or twice a week all summer long to keep down thrips? It would never work. I admit sulphur is greatly used by all in this profession, and I have used or seen it used in the manner described by " Cultivator " for nearly twenty years, but it is not practicable in the present instance. Of course all gardeners use it to keep down mildew in some form.

In looking over some of the back numbers of the Monthly I found an article by a reliable and first-class gardener, on Thrips (Mr. J. Peattie), on page 113, April, 1882. The reading of which is worth a year's subscription to any person who is troubled with thrips. I would have been glad to have remembered it, but, not requiring it at the time it appeared, it was forgotten.

Torres dale, Pa.