Vol. 1. No. 5. 



THE AUUICULTUKAL NEWS. 



73 



■of siiljihatc of [lota.sli per acre divi.led into two aiJiilicatioiis 

 with a months' interval lietween. 



.Mr. William Low, late Colonial Secretary at the Gold 

 (oast, and sometime .Administrator cif Tol>ago, has on retiring 

 from official life pnrcliased the valualile cacao [property 

 of ' I'nion Vale,' at S-Hifriere. The aildition, to the ranks 

 of St. l^ncia planters, of a gentleman of Jlr. Low's calibre, 

 cannot fail to lie valnable. Mr. Low is making exten- 

 -sive an<l interesting exjieriments iji the artificial manuring of 

 his cacao, nnder the a<lvice of the Imjiciial Department 

 of .\griculture. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Scre-w Worm in Cattle. 



ST. LU<'I.\. 



\\"i- ai-i' iiidoLted to Mr. H. Diiliin, ^laiiayci- of the 

 Maiipiis t'.strtto, St. Lucia, lor a vei-y intorcsting 

 .Miinmary of somu e.xperimonts he has i-econtly carried 

 out on the lifc-histoi'v and mode of ti-i-atiiielit of thi.s 

 pest. 



'ihe general result of his ob.servatioiiH is to conhnn 

 the value ot" the reconinieiidations given in the 

 ])aniphlet, i.ssued by the Depaituient, on Screw Worm 

 ill Ctitfli' (if. Sf. Liuiii. He states that he finds crude 

 carbolic acid an effective acjent in killiiio- the iiiatre-ots, 

 and by washnig the wound with it daily, the Hies are 

 prevented from laying eggs, and so causing the sore to 

 break (^ut afresh. 



TliE.\TMEXT \T i Kli.^i OA. 



'J'hi' Secretary of the Sociity foi- the jiromotion of 

 AgiicuJture in (Jura<;oa (Dutch West Indios) writes: — 



Having noticed with much interest the iiamphlet on the 

 iScrev! Worm at St. Lucia, we can inform you that this pest 

 is treated here very successfully by the use of ' Hattle's 

 (liijuid) Sheej) Di))' (Battle, Maltby it Bower, Lincoln), one 

 <lressing being usually sufficient to destroy the worms 

 entirely. Some planters here also use a mixture of carbolic 

 acid (1 jiart) and sweet oil (8 ))arts) but this is not as 

 etticient as the ' Sheep Diji,' although verj' good. 



Wing-covers. Beetles are distinguished from other 

 inse<-ts by the possession of a pair of wing-covers. These are 

 in reality the first [lair of wings, hardened and modified to 

 cover the ujiiier .surface of the body and jirotect the second 

 pair of wings below. These wing-covers probably have a 

 very important function in flight. This can be seen in the 

 'hardback' beetle, in which these wing-covers are held during 

 flight at an angle to the liody and serve as balancers and 

 also as a sort of jiarachute in descending. If tlie.se are cut 

 off, it is found that the beetle can fly but cannot descend 

 pioperly ; deprived of his wing-covers, he iiivai-ialily falls on 

 his back or head and is unable to come down on his legs as 

 he would were the large wing-covers in jiosition above him. 

 They serve to steady him and bring him down right side up, 

 and so have a double function. 



VOLCANIC DUST. 



eO.MH.\R.VTIVK KKSULTS OF .\NALVSES. 



Professor P. Carmody lias kindly forwarded to the 

 Department the following comparative analyses of 

 three .samples of volcanic du.st. The first was collected 

 at sea off St. Vincent by Captain Edwards of the s. s. 

 ' Louisianian,' the second was collected by Dr. Moiris 

 at Barbados, and tlie third was a specimen of the du.st 

 ejected b)' Mt. Pelee at Martiniijue; — 



.3..<. Louixi'.iiiiaiL. Barbar/os. J/artiiii'iHe. 



I6^38% 7^35% 



SS^SOV 92^23% 



•40 -40 



99-40% 100-53% 100-28% 



The 'insoluble in acids' was fused and found then to consist of 

 Silica 42-90 4848 5980 



Iron silicates etc. 2835 3157 2773 



Lime 6-85 3^25 470 



KEMARKS.- -There is ]n-actically the same amount 

 solulile in water and volatile on heating in all three .san.plcs. 



The jiroportion soluble in acids differs very considerably. 

 The amount of lime is greatest in the dust of lowest specilie 

 gravity. 



As regards fineness, the St. Pierre dust contains, as 

 might be expected, coarser particles than the other two. 



The St. Pierre dust contains a reddish mineral in the 

 form of short cylinders which is not present in the other 

 two, anil there is also .i slight ditlerence when viewed by 

 polarized light. 



