V XIV. No. 33G. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



91 



beetle, and the moths, Munidi and Ephestm 



cautella occurred in abundance, - attacking corn soon 



aftei il was stored. Tin larva' ol the weevil, Calandra 

 oryzae, were attacked bj a hymeinopterous parasite 

 {Meraporut sp. 



h was found thai these insects infesl the grain in the 

 field; that Calandra has not thi power to penetrate the husk, 

 but gains admission to the _ ther through the tip of 



the ear or through holes in the hi sk made by borers; and 

 that Trilobium is able to make its ivaj through the husk to 

 i thi grain. A few experiments were made in an effort to 

 fini materia] proof against Calandra and 



Trilobium. It was found that while the former cannot 

 pet i arse drill, the latter has qo difficulty in doing 



Carbon bisulphide, used at the rate of 5 lb. per 1,000 



cubic feet of space, app I give g I results In the 



fumigation of the stored grain, but reinfestation resulted from 

 imp rfect construction of the bins. Carbon dioxide also 

 gave good results as a fumigant for stored maize. 



M l-i ELI IXEOUS. 



Kola. The young shoots oi kola were attacked by 

 a Delphacid leaf hopper (Pundaluoya timplicia, Dist.). The} 

 were treated by brushing with a week kerosene emulsion. 

 Tin Adoretus beetle which attacked young cacao plants in 

 the nursery attacked kola in the same way, and the grass 

 hoppers attacked the leaves. The} were controlled by the 

 usual stomach poisons. Kola nuts on the tree and in storage 

 \ ttacked by two weevils: Paremydica insperata, Fst., 



and Jialanogastris kolae. Desbe. These were parasitized by 

 an [clmeumonid. 



Coffee. Only one leaf eater of importance occurred on 



This was the caterpillar of the ninth Metadrepana 



glauca, Hmp. The coreid bug (Riptortus tenuicornis, Dall.), 



previously recorded as a pest i t this crop, was nol abundant. 



insects occurred but not in great numbers. 



Rubber. Para rubber was attacked by the grasshopper 



already mentioned, which ate the leaves, and by the large 



cricket, Brachytrypes membranaceus, Drury, which attacked 



the runts. This latter was held in 'heck by a fossorial wasp 



(Chlorion xanthoceros, Illig.. var. instabilis, Sin.). Funtumia 



elastica was more subject t" si tacks, the leaves bein^ 



by the larvae of two Lepidopterous insects, Nepheh sp., 



a Sphingid moth, and Glyphodes ocellata, Hmp., a Pyralid 



leaf roller, and the trees wen attacked at the base of the 



3 by a borer, probably the larva of a beetle. Funtumia 



pods \\ hen <>["-n were found toe intain a variety of insect pests. 



<;,-■, mi, I Nuti were atta ted by a leaf-eating caterpillar, 



ifetisa sierricola, and a scale insect, Ceronema a/ricana. 



am grown for green dressings were attacked by three 

 les: Lagria villosa, I... /.. idipennis, and Oot/teca 

 mutabilis. They were conti lied by collecting with light 

 ni ts in the hands ..I small boys. 



Pigeon pea is not o e importance in Nigeria, 



i ing used for shade in yo a mtations "I' cacao. On 

 account of its possible utilit od crop, however, it has 



kept under observation, md the insect pests attack- 

 it have been noted. Several scale insects, several 

 ating larvae, and a frogh ippei are recorded a- attacking 

 thi- plant. 



Oil palms, which had b bedbyfire, were attacked 



by tin weevil Calandra ory 



Street potatoes were ,<f I >} the larvae of the sweet 



potato hawk moth (//>•■ lata). The stored potatoes 



Were attacked by weevils ' i •unneus and C. puncticollis. 



II. A. B. 



THE FLORA OF THE AZORES. 

 Man\ West Imliah- ha ion to visil the 



Azores. In m.u of tl raphicall} transitional 

 nature of the plants i thosi islands compan d with 

 the characteristic 3pi i ies ol Tropical America and 

 Northern Europe, and considering the Azores, like mosl 

 of the West [ndies are mounti us islands, the follow- 

 ing .simmi.in (taken from the Kew Hulletiv <>/ 

 Miscellaneous Information, NT o. 9 of 1914) maj bi 

 found of interest: 



The author endear to describe brieflj some ol 



most conspicuous feature, of the nat egel ition ol 

 Azores as illustrated on the mountain of Pico. In so doing, 

 he directs attention mainly to the vertical distribution of 



the plants. 



^fter pointin for purposes of comparison with 



Madeira and the Canaries the Azores should be regarded 

 presenting conditions For forest growth up to levels ol 

 3,000 to 1,000 feet (p. 307), he givi - the zones ol vegeta 

 (p. 308), (1) the Kaya [Myriea faya] zone, up to 2,000 or 

 2,500 feet; (2) the Juniper and Daphne zone, 2,000 1, 500 feet; 

 (3) the Calluna, Menziesia and Thymus zone, 5,000 feet to 

 the summit: (4) the Upland moors, 2,000 1,(100 I'eet. 



A reference to the climatic conditions (p. 309) is 



followed by a general account of the native vegetati ' the 



mountain (pp. 309 15). Beginning with that ..| 

 summit and of the higher levels (p. 310), he then descri 



in their order the plants of the upper w Is or Junipei and 



Daphne zone (p. 311), of the lower w Is or Faya zone 



(p. 313), and of the Upland moors (p. 313). 



After alluding to the relatively small number of indi- 

 genous plant- as compared with introduced plants (p. 315), 

 the composition of the forest of evergreens that clothed the 

 island- at the time of their discovery is discussed (p. 316), 

 and the early writer.- are quoted in support of the view that 

 the trees of the original woods were of far greater size than 

 at present. It is then shown that although in the existing 

 woods the trees are of -mall size on account of the persistent 

 agency of the wood' utter, they attain respectable dimensions 

 when allowed to grow undisturbed (p. Ml 7). 



With regard to the general affinities of the Azorean flora 



it is remarked that, whilst the plants of the upland i is are 



in the mass European 3pecies that do not occur either in 

 Madeira or in the Canaries, most of the characteristic trees 

 and shrubs of the woods are non-European and either exist in 

 the other two groups or are represented there by closely 

 related species (p. Ml 7). It is suggested, in passing, that 

 the European element in the woods was mainly derived by 

 wa} oi the Atlas Mountains (p. MIS). The woods of the 

 Azores, a- regard- then component live- and shrubs, are to 



be compared with the 'laurel belt' that forms the middle 



zone of vegetation on the -lope- of Teneritl'e. The lower 

 African zone and the higher region of pine- as displayed on 

 that mountain are n< t to lie found in the Azores, t Well 

 absence ben,- due to lack of the requisite climatic conditions 

 in the first case, and to want of suitable soil conditi 

 the high levels of Pico in the secohdease (p. 319). 



Finally, it is shown that the marked endemisin of the 



Can i Madeiran floras is but -lightly displayed in 



'hat oi i 1 ' Azores. The revolutions in plant life which are 



suggested by the presence ill the other two groups of 



representatives oi genera, now exclusive!} American, cannot be 

 predicated foi the Azores. On the contrary, the Azorean 



plantSSUpply us with a -ton of today for the upland moor 



od. 



