Vol. XIV. No. 334. 



Till'. AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



53 



The cacao thrips I //- Hothi ips [1 opu ■'«-!. 



i h occurs in the West [ndies and Surinam, is mentioned 



being al tim - pest. Spraying "'''' kerosene 



1 H. w 1 1 i ■ ■ 1 1 has been found successful in Grenada, has 



ory results in Nurii 



In .lava, the i ac " i m ith (Zarat n most 



ou [" "u many plantal toi I ■ ■ even 



than ilic Helopi 



The larvae of this small moth live in the i icao pods, 

 nelling through the tie pod into the seed cavity, 



i though the) do ool attack the seeds, these a ften 



spoiled as a result of the injury to tl pods arid the pulp. 

 Only one method of control ha? been successful, that 

 known as 'rampassing', which consists in picking all the 

 it at a definite season of the year, md destroying them. 

 The first picking, which occurs some five months after 

 ipassing, yields fruits which an all free from moth 



ick. Each subsequent picking yields larger and largei 

 *rs of infested pods, until nearh all arc infested 

 Attacks of birds do not cause m ich loss in any caca 

 I iducing country, although a certain cumber of pods are 

 att icked, and the seeds eaten. 



Rats and squirrels are serious pests in many localities, 

 these may often be checked b) the judicious use of 

 ms. 



I leer and pigs also cause injuries which at times, and in 



i tain countries, are serious. The deer injure the trees by 



rubbing the bark off, while the [figs, in digging for grubs and 



er food, often injure the roots of the trees, and sometimes 



wholly uproot young trees. 



TICKS IN RELATION TO DISEASES 

 OF STOCK. 



During the last two or three years the tick question 

 I is received special attention by the Imperial Department in 

 tl e Windward and Leeward Island-, and several papers have 

 been published as a result of the work done. For a longer 

 period in Jamaica trials have been made with sprays and 

 dips to eradicate these pests. In connexion with this work, 

 a publication recently received from .Messrs. Cooper and 

 Nephews, M.R.C.V.S., of Berkenstead, England, will be of 

 i resl to planters in the West Indies. This booklet explains 

 tie- anatomy and lif e-cycles of tick-, and the nature of the 

 diseases which they transmit. Especially interesting, on 



unt of the practical experience of the authors in all parts 



of the Tropics, is that section devoted to the methods of 

 eradication. The various poisonous solutions employed as 

 dips are described, as well as what are known as 'starvation 

 methods' of eradication. This latter system involves the 

 idea of causing ticks to live in a pasture fora certain time, in 

 of a suitable host. There are several methods 

 that can be employed in carrying tins out, and the best 



d is perhaps the pasture rotation method, which includes 

 8 tick free cultivated section, and three cropped fields all 

 Si parated from one another by fences, The method of 



hue is described in considerable detail. 

 The publication concludes with an account of Coopers 

 ig and dipping appliances, one of which was used with 

 con iderable success recently in igua, Accompanying 



the publication is a reprint of a papi i entitled Tick Eradica 

 in the West [ndies (an of cattle-spraying 



tons in Antigua). by Mr. P. T Saunders, M.R.C.V.S., 

 formerly Veterinary Officer on the -tatf of the Imperial 

 I art i nt of Agriculture. 



NOTES ON ANTS. 



Che Curator of tlv Botanic Gardens in Domii 

 forwards a letter from a planter in bhal island, • 

 refers to the article in a recenl number ol the Agrit 

 tural A'."-, ( see Vol. Mil p. 376, November 21, L914 

 in which is given an abstracted accounl ol - of 



ant occurring in thi Si i helles. 



The follow in- is quoted from the h 



The writei oi the artii le con dei b it it is the fact that 

 ants proteel certain seal insects, but it is not proved that 



the) do more. 



I have seen the small black luting ant carrying 



transparent scale to plan! it on the under side of the leaf of 



a small grafted mango ilso doing the same thing on new 

 shoots of orange. 



The same ant is tl ne that makes the earthern cover- 

 ings to the mealy scali pine-apples from the ground-level 



up: also on Callalloo and other plants. 



Personally 1 have been convinced for a long tine that 

 the ant is responsible for the spread of many injurious insects. 

 It roams over the whole land here, and I believe it -elects by 

 instinct or by trial ever) plant or tree that suits those insects 

 of which it can make use and then start- the colonies of them. 



Iain under the impression that the large black biting 

 ant also cultivates insects for use, but in this case altogether 



underground and possibly on roots. 



If there is any practicable method of abolishing ants,. 

 I should be very glad indeed to hear of it. 



The Imperial Department has made recommenda- 

 tions for the destruction and control of ants, and it 

 would be of interest to know whether trials of the 

 remedies or methods suggested have given any conclu- 

 sive results in the West Indies. 



The following references in the Agricultural Ncws- 

 to recommendations for the control of ants may be 

 mentioned: Vol. X. p. 34'6, Vol. XIII, pp. 298 and 392. 

 In the Pamphlet No. 71, Insect Pests of the Lesser- 

 Antilles, ants and their control is discussed at 

 page 147. 



Work in the Experiment Station and Botanic Garden, 

 St. Lucia, during December, included the distribution of" 

 lime plants, the picking of cotton, road making, painting 

 sugar works, gates and fences, sowing lime seeds, and other 

 operations. Nearly the whole of the labour in the Botanic 

 Garden was employed throughout the month in breaking 

 coral, and repairing the roads throughout the Garden. 



According to a reci i • quarterly report forwarded to this 



Office from the Acting Curator, Tortola, Virgin Islands, this 



season's cotton crop has been quite early, and during the 



period under review, i.e. the quarter ended December 1914, 

 111 hales of 220 tb. each of lint were ginned and baled at tin 



Cotton Factory. It is stated that the growers view the mar- 

 ket situation with considerable apprehension, but those who- 

 sell to He factory, at which the price has been reduced from 

 7c. per lb. to 5c, seem to t egard, on some sides, the reduction 

 with reasonable satisfaction. 



