Kansas University Weekly.
361
Snow Hall.
Prof. E. Haworth was in Topeka Tuesday attending a meeting of the State Irrigation Board.
Mr. B. B. Brown, writing from the fossil fields of New Mexico, says that if he owned Hades and New Mexico he would live in the former place and rent the latter!
At the recent games of base-ball between the Medical and the Law students Dr. Williston signally surpassed Prof. Greene in cheering and yelling. So say ear-witnesses.
The first brood of chinch bugs is coming out now. It is reported from Shawnee county that the adult bugs are dying rapidly. From the abundance of Sporotrichium among them, the dying is no doubt due to that disease.
A feature of Mr. W. N. Logan's geological work in western Kansas was the discovery of a Stegasaur! The specimen was found in the Lincoln marble of the Fort Benton deposits, and this species has never before been found in that geological horizon. Remains of Plesiosaurs were found in the same deposits.
A brief general review of the material in the Department of Entomology may convey an idea as to the quantity possessed, and the facilities offered by the department to the specialist. The order Coleoptera, or beetles, is represented by over 9000 species. Of these the North American species number 6,300 and are valued at $10,000. The whole number of Coleoptera, including duplicates, amounts to over 50,000 specimens. Of the Lepidoptera, butterflies and moths, there are nearly 2,000 North American species, about 1,000 from foreign countries, and a great many unnamed specimens. The Hymenoptera, which includes bees, wasps, etc. are represented by 600 named species, a large number of unnamed species and duplicates amounting in all to 10,000. Of Diptera, the collection contains 2,200 named 1,200 unnamed species, and over 17,500 duplicates; of Orthoptera, 100 named, 700 unnamed, and nearly 4,000 duplicates; of the Neuroptera, including Odonata, Trichoptera,
Isoptera, Thysema, etc. there are ninety named species, many unnamed and about 2,000 specimens in all. The Hermiptera are represented by 300 named species and 6,000 specimens of which a little less than half are unnamed. In addition to the above, the collection contains 4,000 specimens, representing all orders, from Yucatan collected by Geo. F. Gaumer, fifty vials of named spiders and a collection of scale insects, Coccidae from California. Aside from the main collection is another of Economic and Biologic Entomology, containing insects injurious to vegetation illustrating their habits and life histories. Also, placed in the general museum is a display collection of the chief injurious insects of Kansas. Accompanying these specimens are large water-color drawings of the insects, examples of their injuries to plants, their natural enemies; and full printed description of the insects, their habits, and remedies. The total number of entomological specimens in the department is considerably over 100,000. At least 10,000 of these these are for the immediate use of entomological students; and the specialist may have access to all for original investigation and reference. Nearly every state in the Union, and most of the foreign counties are represented by insects in the collection. Many are from South America, Europe, Mexico, ect.
Who says advertising does no good? Since the editorial request for spring poetry was made two weeks ago, we've received, "perhaps for publication," enough of it to stock a dozen weeklies for a month. Here's a sample or two of it:—
In spring upon the glinting, gliding river;
What tho' its breezes make me shiver,
At eve to float
With maid and boat,
While on oar-dipped ripples the moon beams flash.
Fills me with joy that can't be bought for cash.
Jack Zita.
Hear the Katydid with her did
In the willow branches hid;
Along creek bank
In tall weeds rank
The little snakelet runs his bluff;
The dornicks are on the hatch,
And roosters in the garden scratch;
Spring time is with us sure enough
Jack Zita.