VoT,. r. No. 1. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



THE CACAO BEETLE. * 



'IMiis insect is t'aniiliar to tuicao jjlaiiti'i-s of Grenada 

 anil Trinidad, a.s one of the most serious pests of 

 the cacao tree in those islands. Jts hahits and 

 methods of attack were observed by l)i-. Monis in 

 Grenada .and recorded in the Kew Bttllcfln for 1891, 

 p. 148. The beetle is of a moderate size, bhick with 

 white markings, having the long jointed antenna(^ 

 that characterise the longicorn family of l)eetles. Most 

 of the beetles of this family are wood borers, a large 

 nmnber of species being found in the West Indies as in 

 other ti'opical places. 



Fis- 3. 



C.vc.io Beetle and fJiiuB. 



Pioth natural size. 



The habits of this beetle are similar to tliose ol' its 

 allies. The female is easily recognised as being larger 

 than the male, and lays its eggs on the bark. The grub.s 

 that hatch eat into the bark and later tunnel in the 

 hard woosl, gnjwing finally to a consideivible size and 

 making a correspondingly large tunnel. This they fill 

 with dust and refuse, and in old trees the presence of 

 this dust on the bark is a sign of the presence of the 

 grub in the tree. When this is seen, the grub should 

 be killed. If it is near the, surfiice it shovdfl be caiefully 

 cut out, and the hole tarred over : when it lies deeper 

 a piece of stout wire may be used to extract it. 



Should the grid) be neglected, it will ])re.sently 

 attain its full size and transform to the chrysalis inside 

 its tunnel. This is the u.sual resting stage, wh(;n the 

 body of the l);',etle i.j gradually built up from the mate- 

 lials stored up by the grub, and finally the perfect insect 

 emerges. This, like many other beetles, is most active 

 at night, flying strongly, and in the early morning the 

 beetles ma\' be found in a sluggish condition on the 

 branches of the cacao trees. When they are plentifid 

 they should be C(jllected at this time. At Grenarla, 

 gangs of children do this work and the beetles are 

 gathered, placed in a kerosene tin and killed by the 

 application of a little kerosene. 



The insect is recorded from Venezuela, Colombia, 

 Surinam, British Guiana, Tiinidad, Grenada, and 

 Guadi'loupe. Probably it occurs in other localities and 

 caca<;i planters throughout the We.st Indies will do well 

 to bear it in mind and check its attack as .soon as it is 

 observetl. 



* titeiraitoma depressurn. L. 



GRAPE CULTIVATION IN JAMAICA. 



The following observations on grape cultivation 

 are taken from the Annual Report for 1901, of the 

 Hon. W. Fawcett, B.Sc. F.L.S. Director of Public Gardens 

 and Plantations, Jamaica : — 



EXPERIMENT.^L CULTURE. 



Grape vine.s were cultivated for a few years at Hope on 

 a fairly large .scale for the purjiftse of obtaining definite infor- 

 uiatioi) on certain points of importance. The que.stions 

 to whieli ansjwers were required were stated in the Annual 

 Jieport for 1897, as follows : — 



( 1 .) Wlik'li are the best varieties 1 

 (ri.) the heaviest cropper ? 

 (//) the finest looking grape ? 

 ((■) the best traveller I 



{'2.) The best methods of training, whether on arbour.s, 



fences or otherwise. 

 (•).) The best method of root cultivation. 

 (1.) The lie.st metliod of pruning. 



Tlie results obtained by Jlr. Cradwick are as follows :— 



(1.) ((() The heaviest cropper is what was provisionally 

 called the ' Hoi)e Wonder ' which is the common 

 lilack grape of the Savaiuialis, called in England 

 Barbai'ossa. 



The Muscat of Alexandria, and l^iguanea are also 

 very heavy croppers, but except at Shaftston have 

 not been ripened satisfactorily. 



(h) Barbarossa is, on account of its rich bloom and 

 very large berries and Imnehes, the liandsoniest of 

 all the varieties tried. 



(c) Not having yet exported grapes we have not 

 been able to ascertain which travel the be.st. 



{2.) The arbour .system is much the best ; the vines in 

 .Jamaica cannot be restricted, and the great point in 

 favour of the arbour system is that the bunche.s 

 hang below the leaves, twigs and branches, and do 

 not get rubbed by them when the breeze blow.s. 

 With the other systems it is impossible to keep the 

 leaves and twigs from rubl)ing the bloom off the 

 bunches which of course irretrievably spoils tlieir 

 appearance. 



|.'>.) The bsst method of root cultivation has proved a 

 wide question. On dry gravelly })lace.s like Hope, 

 subjected to dry winds, the roots should be kept ati 

 far below the surrounding level as possible. On 

 badly drained lands the raised beds answer much 

 better. Perfect drainage is the one thing that 

 grape vines must have. On the dry deep red soil 

 of the Savannahs little need be done, except to 

 give as much water as possible, and mulch heavily, 

 so as to keep the roots moist. Cow mainu-e may be 

 applied on any soil in unlinnted (piantitie.s, its 

 great value as a holder of moisture being quite a.s 

 much in its favour as its manurial qualities. It 

 has been found absolutely necessary to iirovide 

 anqile root space as tlie vine in .Jamaica must be 

 continually extended or it loses its vitality and 

 becomes unfruitful. 



(1.) The spur system, with such modifications as have 

 been found necessary by experience to suit the 

 <lifferent varieties, is the l:)est. For instance with 

 Barbarossa, (a rampant growei-) many of the growths 



