1G8 



THE AGltlCULTURAL NEWS. 



.SEPTEMBER 13, 1»02. 



corrected by Sir G. F. Hamiison of the British JIuseuin 

 ( Natural History ) to wliom s[ieciinens were sent, an<l it 

 slidiild be known as Uratua. hihtf, the 'Green Page' Moth. 

 Mr. L. Gtifipy, junior, of Trinidad lias recently ii.scertaiiicd 

 the food jilant of the cateri>illar of this moth and his account 

 will lie publislicd in the next number of the West latliaii, 

 Jiiillttiii. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Insects attacking Bananas. 



Two ir])oits have Ix'fii roceivud (hii-ing tlie past 

 months of insects injuring bananas. In the first, 

 numbers of beetles were found burrowing in the .stems 

 of the plants at St. Lucia. The beetles also attack 

 tannias and lead to the death of a large number of the 

 jilants, by burrowing in the stems and root.s. The 

 attack is ajjjiarently a serious matter, as the damage is 

 rarely noticed until it is too late to take ])i-o])er steps. 

 The beetle is black, about one inch in length, with 

 shining wing covers. It is similar in tiirni to the 

 common ' Hardback ' beetles and ajjpears to belong to 

 that group. The remedial measure found useful 

 consists in searching for the beetles on the bunches of 

 bananas. A few are found every two days. Possibly 

 more could be collected by setting lights witli trays of 

 molasses or water at niglit as the beetles a]ijiear to be 

 reailily attracted. 



In the .second attack, reported fi-om Jamaica, a 

 large beetle was found eating green bananas. The 

 insect is one of the large hoi'iieil beetles, with three 

 jirominent horns on the front of the body. It belongs 

 to the same family as the preceding beetles, but is 

 more closely related to the Hercules beetle of Donn'nica. 



Planters of Dominica will lecall the plantain 

 Weevil Splii'iinjiliiircs siir<Ji</ us that destroved their 

 plants (luring the year 1 !)()(). That was a more serious 

 case as the whok^ lite-history was passed in the 

 banana trees. 



These three beetles constitute the onlv insect 

 en(>mies of bananas so far ri'ported to this Departnu-nt. 

 It is hope(l tliat further facts will be obtained as to 

 these insects and any other enemies of bananas and 

 tannias : and when a more complete account has been 

 obtained, it will be jiublished for the beiieht of those 

 interested in thesi; crop.s. It is interesting to note 

 that in the jieriodical L'A(jricultare in-atiquc den 

 'jnn/n chtiiii/s for July 1902, there is a reprint of an 

 ai'tii-le written in 1S4!) on a wecvW (Sjiltciioiilitiriis 

 li/nitiis) attacking b.inanas in Martinicpie. Ab'Ution 

 is also ma<le of two other species of Sjilii'miiilmrus, 

 with similar habits; the author was uiux'rtain whether 

 Vw'v banana trees were attacked and regarded the 

 insects as possibly useful in hastening the decay <4' 

 tihe dead ti'ees. 



The Green Page Moth. 



A note entitli'<l the ' liluc I'age .Moth' aiipcarcd on )'agc 

 T)C) of the Agricultural Xi-tvit, dealing with an in.sect deter- 

 mined as Urania sloanus. This identification has been 



PINK EYE IN CATTLE. 



j\Ir. C W. Meaden re])orts the occurrence at the 

 Toliago branch of the (jovernment Stock Farm, 

 Trini<lad, and the surrounding neighbourhood of an 

 infectious disease artecting the eyes of cattle. Although 

 not of a vei-y serious character, it is said to occ;ision 

 temporary blindness in some instances. The affected 

 cattle were successfully tri'atod by segregation, an<l the 

 a]i])lication of a solution consisting <if icpial jiarts of 

 boracic acid and sulphate of zinc, by means of a syringe. 

 The I'yes and face weie also washed with a disinfect- 

 ant made by dissolving 10 grains of corrosive sublimate 

 in a bucket of water. 



'In an article, re])roduced liy the Fiiniicr and Stuck 

 llrceilcr from the Montreal Witness, this di.sease, jiopularly 

 known in the riiited States and Canada as ' I'ink eye' is 

 ilescribed, and prevcntible nie<isures are suggested. Tlie 

 disea.se, which is said to becontagiou.'<, .seems to attack young 

 cattle rather than old, and old cattle more .severely than 

 calves, but cattle of all ages will take it. It does not affect 

 any animals but cattle. The first symptom usually noticed 

 is a profuse discharge of tears from one eye, running down 

 over tlie face : the disease usually begins in one eye and 

 later attacks the other eje. In some cases both eyes Tuav be 

 attacked at the same time. A.ssociated with the discharge is 

 intlammation of the eyelids ; the front part of the eye ball 

 becomes milky-white in apjiearance, and one spot red or 

 copper coloured. At this point an abccss usually forms, 

 which sulisc(pieutly discharges a small amount of pus that 

 e.scapes with the tears. In .some ea.scs, this abccss weakens 

 the front of the eye to such an extent that it bursts and 

 allows the contents of the anterior chand)er to escape, iu the 

 majority of such ca.scs the animal is rendered permanently 

 blind iu the affected eye. Practically, however, no anuiial.s 

 die of the <liseasc 



The disease may be prevented liy keeping infected 

 animals away from the healthy. Once introduced, it 

 may be checked by isolating the infected animals. .\s a 

 successful treatment, the following is suggested : The 

 affected animal should be place<l iu a darkened stable, 

 the eyes thoroughly washed with cold %vater, all secre- 

 tions removed, and a solution of boric acid, 20 grains 

 dissolved in an ounce of water, should be applied. A few 

 drojis of Harleiu oil, or a little ointment made by mi.\ing one 

 l)art of finely imlverizcd iodoform with twelve parts of fre.sli 

 lard or vaseline, can be applied directly to llie eye ball by 

 putting it on the inside of the eyelid and gently rubbing it 

 over the surface. Cloths wet with cold water and kept over 

 the eyes are useful in reducing tjio inflammation.' 



As will be seen, the tre.-itiiiellt a<Ioj(ted in the 

 United Stat-i's and C^anada is very sindlar U> that u.sed 

 at Tob.igo. It will be of interest to know whetlu'r this 

 disease has ocetirred at Jamait;;i or any other ^A the 

 West Indian Islands. 



