Vol. XIII. Xo. .Sl'1. 



THE AGKICT'LTURAL NEWS. 



267 



The larva of tliis insect is a wliiti-, Hosliy gruli without 

 U-gs wliich lives in the soil and bores into the base of a cane 

 jilant. The adult is most commonly to be found hiding 

 among the foliage of such plants as pigeon pea, castor, 

 French silk cotton and others growing in or near the sugar- 

 cane fields. In certain instances in St. Jvitts where cotton 

 has been grown alongside of cane fields these beetles ha\e 

 been found in enormous numbers among the leaves of the 

 cotton plants. 



It may Vie added that formerly Exopth'ihitua csiiiitns 

 was known from the adult or beetle form which was found 

 commonlj' in such plants as those already mentioned and in 

 distiicts where limes were grown. It i.s remarkable that 

 tV)llowiiig on the discoverj' that the larva of this insect was 

 a root borer which attacks canes there should be unusual 

 occurrences of them in great numbers. For instance, in 

 St. Kitts early in the present year fields of cane on one 

 estate were disc^ivered to lie seriously injured by some foiin 

 of root trouble which proved on examination to be a severe 

 attack of E.\oi)thahnus. About this time the.se beetles 

 became .so numerous in an adjacent field of cotton that 

 40,000 of them were collected with very little trouble 

 in a few days. In .\ntigua a few weeks later these 

 beetles became extremely numerous in a lime cultivation 

 where some 2.S,000 were collected in four days and later this 

 number went to over +0,000. An examination, made after 

 the ap])earance of the beetles, led to the discovery that the 

 grubs were abunthiut in the soil about the roots of the lime 

 trees where they were probably causing a considerable amount 

 of damage by their feetling. About the same time, also, this 

 insect a])peared in great inimbers in Montserrat, where it is 

 b.'lieved that the gruli has been injuring the roots of lime and 

 other trees. 



The insect i> very similar in liubit to the Uarbado.-. root 

 borer {Dioprrpes a/>l/rei'i'iius), and like that insect, it ajjpears 

 not to be attacked or controlled by any pam,site. It may also 

 be mentioned here that the Leeward Islands root borer, h'.njph- 

 t/i'il'uus fsui'tVH.e, has been recently discovered in Itarbados, 

 having been reported from two separate points in that Island 

 in .Inly of the present year. 



for several years on one estate in St. lvitt>, tei'mites 

 have been the cause of considerable troiili.e to sugar-canes. 

 These are jirincipally of one species, which is now known to 

 be LeucoUiiiiex ((««('.«, which is a Sonth American insect, 

 kn<iwn to occiu- in Brazil, Trinidad, Barbados, St. Kitts and 

 St. Helena. This termite does not build any nest or covered 

 galleries either in St. Kitts or in Barbailo.s, where it has also 

 been under observation. The in.sects are .small and whitish; 

 generally three kinds or castes are found in the comnuinity, 

 that is, in the tunnels formed through the soil and in the 

 interior of the canes which they have eaten out. The soldiers 

 are small and slender, the head being proportionately large, 

 the mandibles long and pointed: the workers are slightly 

 larger, and the winged forms, which are often to lie found, 

 arc about the same size as the workers, but their long narrow 

 wings make them appear larger than tlu>y are. 



These insects attack sugar-cane cuttings newly planted 

 in the field, often comiiletely destroying them, and make it 

 necessary to replant the fields in order to get a .satisfactory 

 stand. They also attack the ripening canes which they 

 sometimes completely clestroy over considerable areas. 



The remedy to be em[iloyed for this pest consists in the 

 complete destruction of all t:rmite infested material in the 

 cane field-s, thee.xerci.se of great care in planting only cu'.tiugs 

 quite free fiom termites and by a rotation of crops. Fields 



in which termites are known to occur .should not be ratooned 

 and the canes should lie followed by cotton for two or three 

 years. 



In Antigua, and sometimes also in St. Kitts another 

 .species of termites attacks sugar-cane in the field. This is 

 Eutermes haitiensis, an insect which builds a large lounded 

 nest and covered galleries through which the individuals 

 travel. So far as present knowledge goes this insect appears 

 to attack sugar-cane only as cuttings, newl}- planted out. It 

 has cau.sed some damage in this way, but is not a serious pest 

 to anything like the same degree as the Leucatermes tenuis 

 already mentioned. 



The remedial measure to be adopted in this instance is 

 the destruction by burning all their nests wherever found, 

 and all infested bits of cane found in the field after the crop 

 is harvested. Care should be exercised, of course, to see that 

 no infected cuttings are planted. It sometimes happens that 

 the nests of this species are concealed amongs rocks or in the 

 hollow trunks of trees but they can almost always be located 

 b)- the covered galleries which the ternntes build. If these 

 galleries are broken open and living termites found in them, 

 that can be taken as an indication that there is a nest .some- 

 where in the vicinit}' which should lie found and destroyed. 

 These measures carefully followed out should result in prac- 

 tically exterminating this species of termite in any given 

 district. 



NOTES ON CO-OPERATION. 



The Wealth of Inilia for .June 191-1 reproduces the 

 main conclusions set out in an article on co-operative credit 

 in the West Indies (see Weit Indian Bulletin, Vol. XIV, 

 Xfi. 1) and concurs with the view that the success of the 

 co-oj)erative movement in India may be ascrilied to (1) the 

 existence of a central Government to lay down general 

 lirincijiles and local govermnents to carry them into aflect in 

 iletail, (2) to the individual organization and missionary work 

 of the liegistrars, (3) Go\ernment advances, (4) the regard 

 shown for human nature, foi- customs and local circumstance.s, 

 (.")) honorary a.ssistance both in regard to organization and 

 semi-philanthrophy. 



The rules and regulations of the People's Co-operative 

 Bank, Limited, .Jamaica, show that every new member sludl be 

 recpiired to pay a fi.xed entrance fee and take a certain number 

 of .shares in the Society. Shares are not withdrawalile, but 

 a share or shares may be transferred with the consent of the 

 Connnittee of Management to any person who shall be or 

 become a member of the Society. The number of shares 

 which a member may hohl is limited. The management of 

 the society is entrusted to a Committee wli'ise duties are 

 to elect inenibers, appoint .salaried officers, to fix rates of 

 interest, to hear complaints, to deal with applications of 

 loans and to receive and check the accounts of the officers 

 appointed to receive and disburse monies belonging to the 

 Society. The Society has a reserve fund formed out of 

 entrance fees, and part of the profit and is the property of 

 the Society. 



