lliO 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Aui;usT 2, 1902. 



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PMC:^i&:'"it/ 



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INSECT NOTES. 



Mosquitoes. 



The discoveries made during the last decade as to 

 the part phvyed by inosimitoes in the dissemination of 

 diseases have drawn general attention to these insects. 

 In the British Colonies, a general effort has been 

 7nade to collect tln' mosquitoes, and the specimens 

 tit) obtained have been studied by Mr. F. V. Theobald 

 of the Natural Hist<)ry Museum, who has lately 

 published an account of his investigations. [A 

 Mi)ii<i</nij>/i of tite ('ill iridic nf flw iiutrld.] In these 

 volumes Mr. Theobahl describes all the known mos- 

 quitoes and gives their geographical disti-ibution. 

 As these volumes are not accessible to everyone, 

 it may be of interest to give the iiuniljcr of 

 species recorded from these Colonies. In compiling 

 these figure.s, Mr. Theobald's list of West Indian 

 .species has been used as the basis, but additional 

 information has been kindly added by ])r. G. C. Low, 

 whose reseaiches on iuoS(|uitoes in iclatioii to disease 

 are generally familial- in these C<jlonies. This list 

 cannot claim to be complete as many of the .specimens 

 .sent by ])r. Low to Mr. Theobalil are being studied 

 at ])resent. 



Perhaps the most intei'esting of West Indian 

 mosquitoes are those which ai'c instrumental in spread- 

 ing disease. A iinjilii'lcs is now icgai-dcd as an agent 

 in sjneading malarial fever, and Aiii>/)lii'li's <i lyi/rutu r- 

 nin therefore assumes a peculiar interest as l)eing the 

 common West Indian species. Sh'i/iiiiii/i<i fnyriiitii, 

 the very (;onnnon '.Scots-( irey' mos(piito, is apparently 

 insti'umental in diffusing yellow fever, and Culcr 

 jidifjii ii--<, the conuuon brown mo.scpiito, is the intei'uK - 

 diatc host of the Filnria which causes "fever and ague' 

 and "elephantiasis.' 'I'he mnnber of species which will 

 bo found to have this function of spreading human 

 di.seases cannot be estimated, but these three common 

 .sjiecies certaiidy a|)peai' to play an iuqiorlaiit part. 



The total list of s])ecies for the West Indies at 

 present is forty-one, including Ibur not found in th(^ 

 British West Indies. The niunber fmnd in cnch 

 Colony is as follows : — 



'I'otiil muuhfr. Mot foiiiiit r/srir/ii'ri'. 



British (luiaua IS 7 



Trinidad !) 2 



Jamaica 12 3 



(Jrenada 10 'i 



Hi. Vincent 12 2 



Barbados (] — 



St. Lucia 1.5 1 



])eniiniea 4 — 



Montseiiat 1 — 



Antigua () — 



St. Kitts 5 — 



Further collecting will .-idd to these figures, and a 

 large nund)er of species probably are awaiting record. 

 Out of the thirty-.seven s|)ecies so far found, eighteen 

 are found in one C.olony oidy, and nine more are found 

 only in two localities. 'Five only have anything like a 

 general distribution and can be regarded as common 

 West Indian mo.squitoes. Any additions to the 

 mos(piito fauna will prove of interest, and it is to be 

 hojied that those who have opportimities to collect 

 in the less known islands will send s]):'cimens to Mr. 

 Theobald, either direct or thidugh this J)ijiartment. 

 Living mosquitoes if despatched innnediately could be 

 properly set at the office of this Department, and any 

 sjMcimens received will be forwaided to Mr. Theobald. 



Plague of Flies at Grenada. 



iKi /•( I'cdjile. 

 iuignage the 



Tiie Editor ef TIf F,;/<r,illst .vvJ d 

 de.s'ribes in soniewliat facetious liut graiiliic 

 annoyance felt at S'. George's by tlie recent invasion of 

 myriads of flies tli.it had taken po.ssession of the town : 

 ' the air is charged with their buzziiigs, tliej- alight on everj"- 

 thing... they take cooling batlis in water goblet.s, (Hve 

 reckles.sly into the butter-dish and t'risk nimbly over the 

 delicacies of the kitchen. Flj'-paiier has no alluring charms 

 for them : thej" pass it with coiucmiit . . . one may as well 

 think of goading a stuf>born mule as ih'iving otf a fly . . . 

 the fly always comes oH' victorious, and -.Munding a triumiihant 

 buzz leaves his victim fretting ami tinning at his own impo- 

 toicy and liis failure in sijueh'hing his tormentor.' 



.\n invasion of tiies of tins cliiuacter can very well be 

 understood to be most troublesome and annoying. The be.st 

 remedy is to attack their breeding places in stable yards, in 

 fre.sh manure and in any garliage that may liave eseiqied 

 notice in the town. As flies can enly breed in organic 

 matter, their abundance at any time is evidence that animal 

 refuse of some kind exists, not far away in the neighbuur- 

 li;)od. The most effectual mean-! of cijmbating a jilague of 

 flies is to remove the opiortnuity for them to breed. It Is 

 recoMuneuded to examine closely for tlieir breeding places 

 an<l treat all refuse, and cs]ie;'ial]y litter in staKle yards and 

 fre.sh manure, witli a sprinkling of chloride of lime or other 

 cheap and etiective disinfectant. 



Sapodilla Maggot. 



On l>age SS we mentioned that the sapodilla was 

 sometimes infested by a yellow maggot which eventually 

 ili\(']o|is into a handsome black and yellow tiy. It is 

 ri'iiiiited that this pest is not knt)wn in (irenada and ihat 

 s.i|iodillas from that islaml may be eaten withont suspicion 

 of tlieir containiiii; unwelomic intruders. 



Duty on Arrowroot. 



It should interest planters and exporters in tlic West 

 Indies to know that the grain duty recently ado|ited by the 

 British Parliament is somewhat far reaching in its eHcct. 

 .\rrowroot. ca.s.sava starch and tapioca, potato Hour and sago, 

 come within its operation, lieing lialile to the imposition of 

 .")(/. per cwt. like flour and meal. On whejit, barley, etc., the 

 duty is 3</. a cwt. 



