392 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



Uecember 5 1914. 



INSECT NOTES. 



AN ANT EXTERMINATOR. 



The Montlily BulUtiii of the California .Mate Commis- 

 sion of Horticulture for October last contains an interesting 

 article entitled A Good Ant Exterminator. 



The article is chiefly concerned witli the t;xtermination 

 of the Argentine ant, but the recommendation may be of 

 value in connexion with the destruction of other ants when 

 their nests are formed in situations tliat allow of their being 

 treated by the means described. 



In previous issues of the Agricultural Nevs, the Argen- 

 tine ant has been dealt with, its liabits, and the injury 

 caused by it were explained, and certain remedies which 

 had been found effectual were described. In other issues, 

 remedies suited to the control of .other ants have been given. 



These remedies have generally consisted of the use of 

 carbon bisulphide for the destruction of the nests, the u.se of 

 poison baits, in which the poison occun-ed in such small 

 proportion that the workers which visited the bait, and carried 

 it to the nest would not be killed, so that it might be 

 fed to the larvae, and thus the nest be we\kened and 

 destroyed. .Another metliod consisted of the use of bones, 

 cow heels, i.e., the cow hoof, as traps, to be dropped into hot 

 water when large numbers of ants had collected on them, the 

 ants being thus killed, and the bones and cow heels being put 

 back to attract another lot of ants. The author of the article 

 mentioned above, Mr. D. L. Crawford, states that the use of 

 poison baits, the destruction of tlie foraging workers, and the 

 use of powders or sprays as deterrents, do not exterminate but 

 rather serve to drive away the ants, and he suggests the use 

 of creoline sheep dip at the rate of 1 quart to 5 gallons 

 of water, or 1 part to 20 parts of water, but if the nest 

 is very near the roots of a tree or other plant, 1 part of the 

 creoline to 30 gallons of water should be the strength used 

 in order not to injure the tree. 



As a substitute for creoline sheep dip in localities where 

 this cannot be procured, the following emulsion of carbolic 

 acid is suggested: 1 It), soap is dissolved in 2 pints of hot 

 water, and 1 pint of crude carlxilic acid is then added, and the 

 whole is shaken and thoroughly mixed. This is diluted wdth 

 about .30 parts of water, making about 15 or 16 gallons of 

 material for use. If it is to be used near the roots of a tree, 

 dilute with -50 parts of water. The directions given for the 

 application of these substances are as follows: — 



First sprinkle some of the liquid about the entrance of 

 the nest, to kill the ants whii'li happen to be outside at the 

 time; loosen the soilj and with a hoe scrape out an excavation 



2 feet all round the entrance hole, and sprinkle the dirt that 

 has been removed with the liquid to kill all the ants in it. 

 Loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole, and pour in about 



3 or 4 gallons of the liijiiiil, and with the crow-bar further 

 loosen the bottom of the hole to help its penetration. 



MOTH BORERS OF SUGAR-CANE IN 

 BRITISH GUIANA. 



The interesting and valualili' work which has been 

 carried out on the estates of Messrs. (Jurtis, Campbell ife Co., 

 and Messrs. Booker Bros., ^McConnell & Co., in British 

 Guiana, has been noticed in these columns from time to time 

 as the reports of the Entomologists entrusted with these 

 investigations have been received. (See Agricultural News, 

 Vol. X, p. 1.54; Vol. XII, p|). 2(56 and 282; Vol. XIII, 

 p. 2.34.) 



-V further report has now been received, in whicli 

 Mr. J. J. Quelcli, B.Sc, (Lond.), gives results in the work on 



the control <jf the small moth V)0i-ers {Dinfrnea sarr/taralis 

 and D. canella) up to September last. 



The rejjort gives records and conclusions derived from 

 the work of collecting egg clusters, and liberating anil 

 redistril)Uting egg |)arasites. 



The rejjort sliow.s that these operations are highly 

 beneficial, and that on every estate gangs ought to be main- 

 tai)ied for the regular and continued collection of egg 

 clusters. The methods adopted for handling the eggs, and 

 liberating the parasites in the field, were described in the 

 Agricultural News, Vol. XII, p. 282. The difficulties in the 

 way of the satisfactory carrying iiut of this work arise from 

 shortage of labour at the times when labour is most needed 

 for this work, and the lack nf suitalile supervision for such 

 operations on many estates. 



The practice of cutting out and destroying dead hearts 

 with borers in them, and the collection and destruction of 

 all refuse in which these borers may be contained, is also 

 advocated, while it is stated that under certain conditions 

 the use of trap lights is beneficial. 



The collection of the egg masses is however the principal 

 operation dealt with. It is recommended that this should be 

 commenced at once (within three weeks after the canes have 

 been cut) and continued regularly until the canes are too 

 Irrge and leafy for proper examination. In each field tlie 

 replants or sujiplies should be examined for some time after 

 the ratoons have become too large. 



The [jractice of i)arning the canes is stated to exert a very 

 harmful intltiencc on the number of the parasites, and while 

 tire also destroys the eggs of the moths, the caterpillars in 

 the canes are largely uninjured, and consequently the succeed- 

 ing generation of moths, resulting from the development of 

 the larvae which escaped destruction by fire, and which are 

 left in the fields in the tops and unsound canes, is much in 

 excess of the parasites, and the borer attack'' develops 

 unchecked to a large fextent. 



There would seem to be no doubt that the investigations, 

 recorded in this and previous reports, indicate a line of control 

 work, which when [lersistently carried out, must result in 

 a reduction of the injury by the >niall moth borers. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 

 During his ivcint vi.sit to England, Mr. H. A. 

 Tempany, B.Sc, Superintendent of Agriculture for the 

 Leeward Islands;, took the opportunity to sit for the 

 examination for the degree of Doctor of Science, at the 

 University of London. Information has since been 

 received that tlie degree has been conferred upon him 

 In addition to his examination, Mr. Tempany sub- 

 mitted as theses, papers on some of the research 

 work which he has accomplished in relation to 

 problems connected with scientific agricidture in the 

 West Indies. 



Me.ssrs. A. C. Miles and C. Saunders, Senior Cura- 

 tors in the Agricultural Department of the Gold Coast, 

 arriveil in Barbados on November 2, on a visit to the 

 West Indies, which was undertaken at the instance of 

 the Secretary of State for the Colonies. These gentle- 

 men are especially interested in cacao; and their itiner- 

 ary includes visits to Trinidad, Dominica, and Grenada,. 

 It is expected that Messrs. Miles and Saunders will 

 leave Grenada on December 7, conni^cting the following 

 day at Trinidad with the homeward bound Roy;d 

 Mail Steamer. 



