Vol. Xni. No, 330. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



409 



The article entitled Sugar-cane Pe.sts in the Leeward 

 Islands is a review of a pamphlet with that title, No. 75 of 

 the Pamphlet Series of the Imperial Department of Agricul- 

 ture. This pamphlet gives a list of the better-kuown pests 

 of sugar-cane, and deals at length with some of those which 

 have recently been demonstrated to 1 le pests. 



These are the brown hard back, that of Antigua being 

 Lachnosterna sp., and that of St. Kitts, Lachnosterna patruelis. 



The Antigua brown hard back has been known to be 

 present in cane fields for several years, attacking, and causing 

 the death of newly planted canes, and it has also been known 

 as a serious pest of Indian corn and onions. The remedy 

 .suggested for its control is the use of Indian corn as a trap 

 crop, and collecting the grubs in Deceniber or January from 

 the soil about the roots of the well-grown or ripening corn 

 plants. 



The St. Kitts brown hard back {L. patruelis) occurs in 

 large numbers in the soil of certain cane fields, but the exact 

 nature and extent of the damage caused by this insect 

 have not been determined. ^. 



The Leeward Islands root borer (Exophthadmus esuriens), 

 has in the past few years come to be recognized as a pest 

 cif importance. The adult insect has long been known to be 

 C)f common occurrence throughout tliose islands, but it is 

 only recently that the injury caused by its grubs has been 

 recognized. 



The article entitled Root Borers, which appeared at 

 page 250, discussed the recent occurrence of this pest on a large 

 scale, and referred to its discovery in Barbados where it was 

 feeding on one of the sisal plants, Agave sisalana. In this 

 article mention was also made of the occurrence of the 

 insect, referred to in Martinique as Exophthalmus esuriens, 

 which is probably identical with the Barbados root borer 

 [Diaprepes abl/reviatus). 



To return to the sugar-cane pests of the Leeward Islands, 

 the termites which attack sugar-cane in St. Kitts belong to 

 one species (Leucotermes tenuis), attacking canes at all stages, 

 but inflicting greatest damage on the ripening plants; while 

 Eule)-7>ies haitiensis in Antigua is most noticeable from its 

 injuries to newly planted cane cuttings. 



Leucotermes tenuis is not known to build any nest, and 

 the remedy suggested is a rotation of crops, such as growing 

 cotton and green dres-sings for several years on infested fields, 

 and exercising care to plant no infected material. In 

 Antigua Eutermes haitensis, which builds large and generally 

 conspicuous nests, may be controlled by the destruction of 

 their nests. 



Insect pests of cotton have Ijeen noticed in two issues: 

 at page 180, under the heading Insect Pests at Barbados 

 1912-13, the leaf-blister mite of cotton is mentioned as 

 having spread to all cotton-gromng areas in the island. 

 The system of allowing the old cotton to remain standing in 

 the fields, often until the new crop is planted, accounts for 

 the infection of many fields. 



In St. Kitts an ordinary and well-known cockroach 

 (Periplaneta australasiae) has appeared as a pest attacking 

 young cotton seedlings. A poison bait of Paris green and 

 corn meal has been tried experimentally, apparently with 

 successful results (see p. 344). 



On page '250 an abstract of an article on the Citrus Root 

 Nematode appears. This nematode is given as Telelenckulus 

 semipenetrans, Cobb. It is of wide distribution, and is not 

 known to attack any other plants than citrus. 



Coco-nut pests are mentioned on page 21, in the review 

 of the report of the Government Economic Biologist, British 

 Guiana. The borers in the stem of the coco-nut plant include 

 the moths Castyiia licus and C daedalus, and the weevils, 

 Hhynchophoi-ns palmarum, MetaiiMsius hemipterus, and 



Rliina barhirostris. The caterpillars of Brassolis s^phorae,. 

 Sibine trimacula, and a skipper butterfly feed upon the 

 leaves. The beetles Dycinetus bidentatus and St.rategus^ 

 alveus destroy young coco-nut plants. 



Three papers on ants have appeared during the j'ear, on 

 pages 298, 376, and 392. >• 



The first of these gives an account of the acrobat ant 

 {Cremasto gaster); the second gives an interesting account 

 of the life-history and habits of a species of ant ( Technomyrmex 

 albipes) in the Seychelles: while the third deals with a method 

 of exterminating the Argentine ant in the United States. 



The Insect Notes, on page 74, give an account of 

 Termites, and a list of West Indian species recently identified, 

 with a brief account of the life-history, and descriptions of the 

 •■several different forms or castes ordinarily found in a commun- 

 ity of these insects. 



In the following number, at page 90, a list of West Indiaa 

 ticks Ls given, as well as an account of scarabee or Jacobs, 

 with directions for planting sweet potatoes from a nur.serj', 

 in order to reduce the chances of infection by this pest. 



The article entitled The Eradication of Mosquitoes by 

 Bats (p. 106) gives an abstract of an interesting account of 

 the beneficial ett'ects of bats in reducing the number of mos- 

 i|uitoes in a locality in Texas. 



A brief account of the Mediterranean fruit fly in Uganda 

 appeared at page 122. 



The control of the onion thrips in the United States is- 

 the subject of an article on page 154. Spraying with nicotin 

 sulphate 3-2 oz., cresol soap 3 pints, and water 50 gallons, at 

 intervals of from seven to ten days, is recommended as a satis- 

 factory control measure. An article on Insects and Pain was 

 presented on page 312, and one on the insect pests of peas 

 and beans, on page 376. 



A description of a wood-boring moth, Duomitus 

 punctiter, and its attacks on a variety of trees in several 

 West Indian islands, appears at page 328. The same insect 

 was mentioned as occurring in Barbados at page 186. 



Naphthalene, as an insecticide, was discussed in two- 

 articles on pages 154 and 360, where its use for the control of 

 fleas in a house, and for fleas on cats and dogs was mentioned. 

 A statement of .several other ways for using naphthalene was - 

 made, an important one being for the protection of stored 

 grain from the attacks of weevils and moths. 



Naphthalene enters also into the preparation of Paranaph 

 and Scalo, two preparations for use in controlling scale and 

 other insects. In these preparations the mixture of kerosene 

 and soap is influenced to a considerable extent by the action 

 of naphthalene. This is discussed in the article Paranaph 

 and Scalo, on page 282. 



The Insect Notes in the i.ssuefor November on page 376 

 was entitled The Etfect of Insecticides on Certain Plants. 



The Origin of Domestic Fowls.— Probably the 

 many varieties of the domestic fowl originated from at least 

 two distinct species. In an article in the Joxirnal of Heredity, 

 July 1914, C. B. Davenport thinks that besides the Jungle 

 Fowl (Gallus ferrwjineus), which is still found wild in India, 

 the Aseel or MalayFowl, which has been domesticated in the 

 East for over 3000 years, has contributed to the formation of 

 the modern breeds of the domestic fowl. He thinks that the 

 Jungle Fowl is the foundation stock of the nervous, agile, e^- 

 laying breeds — the Leghorn, Minorca, Spanish, etc. — breeds 

 derived from the stock that first spread over Europe, brought 

 probably from Persia. The Malay Fowl, probably coming to 

 the West from China, has ' tran.smitted its size and heavy- 

 build to the modern fine, general purpose breeds — Plymouth 

 Rock, Wyandotte, Orpington, etc. 



