88 



THE AGKICULTUIIAL NEWS. 



July 5, 1902. 



INSECT NOTES. 



The sapodilla fruit is scarcely a comimkhi aiticlc 

 of food, but it is to some extent appreciated as one of 

 the West Indian fruits. Persons who like it will possibly 

 appreciate it less from knowing that the sapodilla is the 

 habitat of a jteculiai- maggot, but this feeling need not 

 deter an}- one from enjoying a good sapodilla. If on 

 breaking open a sapodilla one finds yi'llow maggots of 

 .some half an inch in length, one may look with suspi- 

 cion on the whole batch and only eat after an 

 inspection of each. This maggot is found in the ripe 

 .sapodilla, wriggling its w.iy througli the soft flesh of 

 the fruit. If kept and allowed t(j ivmain in the fruit, 

 it will presently come out and envelop itself in a hard, 

 seedlike case. This, if kept, will jiresfutlv vield a 

 handsome fly of a black and yellow colour with long 

 wings banded in a .serpentine fashion. This is the 

 insect known to .science as A iKi.^/rcji/m Sir/ii-u/iini. 

 Wied. Though of little economic inijiortance, it may 

 be of interest to those who are in the liabit of enjoying 

 .sapodillas. A very similar insect occui's in Trinidad 

 in guavas, and possibly the mango maggot of Jauutica 

 also belongs to this family. Similar attacks on oranges 

 in Mexico have led to an investigation by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, as it w'as feared that 

 the insect, which infests ripe oranges, might find its 

 way to the Southern United States and' harm the 

 orange industry. A well-known insect similarly attacks 

 peaches and other fiuit in Beniuidaand elsewhere. The 

 Barbados sapodilla maggot, though not important, is 

 interesting, not only on its own account, but from the 

 habits of other such flies elsewhere, and from the possi- 

 bility there is of this fly beconang couunon and 

 attacking other fruits. All sajjodillas' should then be 

 destro3-e(l, sound ones in the ordinary way, and infested 

 ones by burying or b\irning. 



Trinidad Moths. 



In Part II of (!i- TiMn.siu-tions ef tli',' fvitniueloyica! 

 Society of London for I'JOl, is uii excellent i-atido,mie (/the 

 Lejii(/o],t,')a Ih'tcroccra (.Moths) of Trinidiul, liy ^V. .1. Kayc, 

 E.E.S. Mr. Kiiyo cnuniiTatcs L'l.j s|H:cies, inclniling tliusc 

 ooliectcfl l.y himself an.l .\Ir. S. Kayo, and ail those recorded 

 in the ISiifisIi .Mnsoiun I'ojlections. He estinuitos the 

 jirohalilc uuinher of nu.th.s in Tiindad at one thousand, at 

 least, so that there is ample scojic for collectors in Trinidad 

 to carry on the excellent work of Mr. Kayo. Of now spocics 

 forty five arc described, so that the collection has made a 

 useful addition to our knowIe<lgc of West Indian moths. It 

 is to he hoped that those intorostod in insects will assist in 

 our kn()wio(l>,'e of the siie<Mos t'oiuid in these islands. Beyoiul 

 a list of Dominica .species numbering iiincty-tive, froni the 



jicn of Mr. H. Druce, and two ]iaj)ers of the 'Moths of the 

 Lesser Antilles' by Sir (ieorge Hampson, little is known of 

 the moths of these islands. Moths are easy to collect and do 

 not require any appliances for preparation beyond a killing 

 liottle and a sujiply of papers. Any specimens will prohahly 

 he of value both fur the British Museum collections and for 

 the colleetiou being made at the office of the Department of 

 .\i;ricidtnre. 



Centipedes or Forty-Legs. The connnon cent! 



]iedes known as ' terty legs' are among the more formidable 

 of the household creatures and are generally regarded with 

 abhorrence. Their bite certaiidy is to be feared, but they 

 are of such a retiring nature that they do not go out of their 

 way to bite. In houses, their function is certainly a useful 

 one, in that they destroy cockroaches and other verndn. One 

 may balance the usefulness and modesty of the forty leg 

 against the obnoxiousncss and uni)leasantne.ss of the cock- 

 roach and tolerate the former as an enemy of the latter. As 

 a rule, the foi-ty-leg, if caught, gets a short shrift, when 

 mercy nught well be sliown him if his usefulness were taken 

 into account. 



VOLCANIC DUST. 



Reports on the dust of May 7-8 at Barbados. 



DISCUSSKI.X .\T THE GEOLOIilPAL .SOCIETY, LO.XDON. 



At the meeting of the Geological Society of 

 London, on Jlay 2.S, a .sanij)le <d' the dust collected at; 

 Barbados by Dr. Jbuxis was exhibited, and a note on 

 a prcdiminary examination connnunii;ate<l by Dr. J. S. 

 Flett, BI.A., D.Sc, oneofthi' Si-ientilic Conuui.ssionere 

 to St. Vincent, togeiher with the following results of 

 an analysis by ])r. W. P.illard, .M.A., IXSc, of the 

 Ueological Survey ; — 



Silica .ji'-Sl per cent. 



Titanium oxide ... ... 'O.") " " 



Alunnna 1S79 " " 



Iron oxide (Fe. ()..) ... .'i-L'S " " 



Iron oxide (Fe"0) ' ... 408 " " 



Oxide of manganese ... ■28 •' " 



Cobalt and nickel oxides... '()' " " 



Calcium oxide ... ... !J■.").'^ " " 



^Magnesium oxide... ... b'Vi " " 



Potassium oxide ... ... 'GO " " 



Sodium oxide ... ... .■i'l'.'! " " 



l'lies|i|ioric anhydride ... 'lo " 



Sidpliuric' anhydride ... '.'^-'l " " 



Chlorine 14 " 



Water -.'JT " 



lOO.'lo per cent. 



in llie diseussien which foljuwed. Mi..!. H.Teall, 

 F.U..S., the Director of tlu' (Jeologieal .Surve\-, ' called 

 attention to the small (piantity (d' potash revealed by 

 the analysis and tho\ight this might po.ssibly be due to 

 the glas.sy parts having been imtch.inically .separated 

 from the crystalline^ nunei-als in the air, a.s the .s:imple 

 an.d^-.sed consisted maiidy of such ndner.ils. Hence if 

 the area could be found where the glass fell, the discov- 

 ery might ])rove important from the agricultural jioinf, 

 of view. Nature woidd have been more bountiful if 



