400 Agricultuml Gazette of N.S.IV. [Jiay 2, 1908. 



Progress Report from Mr. W. W. Froggatt. 



[Mi{. FnucdATT is travrlliiiL; on l)elialf of tlio (Jovei iinnnls of (^)iieenslaiid. 

 New South Wales, A'icloria, and South A ii>1 lalia, in inu'st of means of 

 conibatinj^- th(_' fruil-tly and codlinL;- nmih pi'-ts, and other fi'iiit and ])lant 

 diseases.] 



Sir, 



My last ri'poi't, written in Hahan'i, dealt with my invest i'^ations in 

 Mexico. Since then 1 have been thi'onL;h tlie AN'esi Indies, and am writing- 

 tliis at sea, on my road to London, wldi'h we are timed to ri'acli on Kllji 

 Febrnary. There I propose to see as many of the economic entomologists 

 as I can, and all tlu' collections of econtjmic work, at tlie same time 

 finding out all I can abont the (piickest metlif)ds of seeing the economic 

 entomologists of Southern iMrrope inti'rested in fruit-flies and other pests, 

 and the route through the Mediterranean. 



I left A\'ra Cruz, Mexico, on 28th November of last year, and connng 

 round by I'rogresso, on tlie coast of Yucatan, where we speid a day 

 loading bales of sisal fibre, the chief product of this State, reached 

 Havana on tlie 2nd December. 



As soon as I landed I engaged an interpreter, and after calling upon 

 the IJritish Consul, juesented my credentials to tlie Ministt'r of Agricul- 

 ture, wlio gave me letters to the scientific societies and the Director of 

 the Experiment Station at Santiago des Vegas, to whicli place (14 miles 

 out of town) I went next daA*. 



The Director, Vlv . I. F. Crawley, and his staff (all Americans) did 

 everything they could to make my stay profitable, and I spent a good 

 deal of time at this station. The greater part of this distidct is red 

 sf)il over limestone formation, and one of the most ]irofital>]e industries 

 is growing wrapper-leaf tobacco. Nearly all the small holders grow some 

 tobacco, sometimes shaded with banana i)lants, l)ut more often Avithout. 

 This is all cultivated and Avatered by hand. There are, however, a numljcr 

 of large growers, Avho cover the ]dants Avith cheese-cloth, which protects 

 them from insect jiests, l)reaks the dii'ect rays of the sun, and keeps the 

 soil moist; so that the plants gi'ows more rajdiUy, and with jierfectly 

 shaped leaves. One firm have 30 acres sheltered with cheese-cloth on i)oles 

 and Avire about !) feet in height. The filling toliacco is grown in the 

 ordinary manner. The chief pests of the tobat'co planter are the larA^;f 

 of the large hawk moths (probably several species) ami cut-worms. The 

 men employed on the tobacco estates are constantly going over tln' plants 

 and hand-picking tlie grubs, for even a siuall hole spoils a wrapper leaf. 



A number of citrus orchards liaA'e been started these last feAV years by 

 American growers, and consist of gra]ie-fruit (pomelos), oranges, man- 

 darins, and a few lemons; luit three-ipiarters of the trees groAvn are" 

 grape-fruit, Avhieh is the fashionable fiuit in the United States, and is 



