298 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 18, 1909. 



INSECT NOTES. 



TRANSPORTATION OF MILLIONS. 



Great interest is being tiken in this fish in many 

 parts of the world, in consequence of the fact than it 

 feeds on, and thus destroys, mosquito larvae. In order 

 to facilitate its distribution, a consignment of the fish 

 has been sent by the Commissioner of Agriculture to 

 the Zoological Gardens, London, and the following 

 hints in regard to its transport have been emljodied in 

 a leaHet by Mr. H. A. Ballon, M.Sc., Entomologist to 

 the I)epartment : — 



Millions (Gii'ardiiius pueci- 

 loides, De Filippi) have been 

 sent from Barbados to other 

 West Indian Islands and to 

 such distant points as Guaya- 

 quil and British Guiana, 

 .Jamaica., r.olivar, England 

 and West Africa, with good 

 success. A consignment has 

 also been sent forward for 

 the Federated Malay States, 

 'but no report has been re 

 ceived as to the condition 

 in which these fish arrived at 

 their destination. 



It has been found that 

 kerosene tins are very suit- 

 able contaniers for millions 

 during transportation. Each 

 tin IS fixed in a wooden case, 

 which allow.s for 2 inches of 

 sawdust on all sides and at 

 the bottom. This will prevent 

 sudden changes of tempera- 

 ture in the water. The open 

 top is protected by a cover, 

 in the event of cold weather 

 being exqierienced. A piece 

 of mesh wire (about 8 or 10 

 juesh) is fi.ved inside the tin 

 above thB water in such 

 a way as to prevent the fish 

 from being thrown out if the 

 water splashes when the tins 

 are being handled, or if the 

 ship rolls violently. 



Millions are very general 

 feeders ; they will attack mos- 

 quito larvae, small crusta- 

 ceans and many other forms 

 of minute aquatic life. They 



will eat, in ca[)tivity, ))lant lice, bits of meat, bread, biscuit, 

 cornmeal, and o: hard-boiled eggs. 



Millions in captivity are fairly hard}', and do not suffer 

 so much from lack of attention as do many other kinds of 

 fish. They thrive so nnich better with good care, however, 

 that it pays to keep the water clean and fresh, and free, as 

 far as possible, from bits of food 3,nd other organic matter 

 which will decay and foul the water. While in transit, 

 a careful cleaning of the tins once a week should be sufficient. 

 Each tin of .'5 gallons capacity should contain not over 

 3 gallons of water, which should be sufficient for from 200 to 

 300 fish. In cleaning the tins, about 1 "alloii of water should 



be taken out with a siphon, and at the same time all sedi- 

 ment should be removed, and any dead fish as well. Fresh 

 water should be added to make up for that removed, 

 and this should be at the same temperature as that in 

 the tin. If the water to be added is suspected of being 

 exceptionally hard or alkaline, it will be best to test it 

 before putting it into the tins. A few fish should be taken 

 from one of the tins'and kept for a few hours in the water 

 under trial. It can .soon be seen whether the water is suit- 

 able for the purpose. 



The tins containing the 



i^8M'^^^^??SR-svi»riM««sts8S^S^^^^___.^*'i should be placed in some 

 xj//imtsn.^'^:^^.^.:.r^- 't u„.,im«.x,«f.»sj?^^p|^ convenient, sheltered spot on 



~ deck in charge of some one 



on board. It should be 

 remembered that low tem- 

 peratures are fatal to these 

 fish, and that if cold nights 

 are experienced, the tins 

 should be screened with the 

 co\er provided, and if necess- 

 ary, should be moved to 

 warmer quarters. The fish 

 should be fed on very finely- 

 chopped raw beef, or hard- 

 boiled egg similarly treated, 

 varied with a small amount 

 of cornmea' or bread crumbs. 

 About half a teaspoonful at 

 each time will be sufficient 

 and no more should be given. 

 The fish should be fed only 

 once in two days. It will 

 not be necessary to remove 

 the wire for the purpose of 

 feeding them. 



A consignment of millions 

 recently taken from Barbados 

 in March last, intended for 

 use in Southern Nigeria, is 

 reported to have sutfored 

 severely from the cold on 

 approaching England, ilany 

 of them, it is also re[)orted, 

 died as a consequence of the 

 jarring and shaking which 

 they experienced on the rail- 

 way journey from Southamp- 

 ton to l.oiulon, where the 

 survivors were oared for at 

 the Zoological Gardens, ar.d 

 again on the return from London to the point of embarka- 

 tion for West Africa. The rough handling which the 

 containers received in the surf boats at I/igo.s caused the 

 ileath of the remainder, and none were landed alive. 



On arrival at their destination, millions should at once 

 bo placed in a good-sized tank with fresh water, and they 

 should be fed with all tbey will eat for a few days. The action 

 of green algae and water weed in the tank in aerating and 

 purifying the water is very beneficial. 



It may be added that a fish called ' toddo-birre ' 

 {G. (rii/i/iii), which is closely related to millions, is being 

 used for mosipiito de-struetion in S\irinanie. 



Fig. 30. Eccs .\ni) L.vkvae of Mosijuito. 

 (IT. S. Department of Agriculture.) 



' (ill: \iM>i\'us poF.ciLOiiJKs", 1)k FiiJi'ri. 

 (.'VlioLit twice natural size.) 



