170 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 3, 1905. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Destruction of Weevils. 



The following note from the Queensland Agri- 

 cultuml Jouviud of April 1905 may prove of interest 

 to xeAAers oi th.e Agricidiund Kev:s. The directions 

 given appear to be worthy of trial : — 



Salt is a protective agent. This was accidentally 

 discovered by a farmer. He .stacked up some grain in an 

 odd lot of sacks, some of which had contained .salt. When, 

 the grain was marketed, that in the salt sacks was perfectly 

 free from weevils, that in the other sacks was riddled by 

 them. He always used .salt after this in his barn. When 

 the unhusked corn was piled up in the barn, he dissolved 

 a quart of salt in 2 gallons of water, and sprinkled the corn 

 as it was thrown in. No weevils touched it, although the 

 liarn was previously full of weevils. 



The Nasal Fly of the Sheep. 



In the Afjricidtural Gazette of New South Wales, 

 of April 3, 190.5, Mr. W. W. Froggat, the Government 

 Entomologist, records the occurrence of this fly 

 {(Entrus ovis) and gives the following brief outline of 

 its life-history : — 



The fly, unlike the true bot-flies, is viviparous, deposit- 

 ing not eggs but maggots inside the nostril of the sheep, 

 which are furnished with segmental spines and hooks on the 

 head, admirably adapted for progression through tlie soft 

 tissue and along the mucous membrane. They make their way 

 up into the frontal sinuses of the head, where they develop 

 to tlie full size, and then crawl down into the nasal cavities, 

 and are sneezed out by the unfortunate host. The larvae 

 hide in tlie ground for about a month before the perfect fly 

 comes forth. 



This insect is known to occur in the West Indies, 

 but is not frequently reported. It is possible that it 

 may be of more common occurrence than is generally 

 supposed. It would be useful to have collected 

 and sent to the Head Office specimens of flics found 

 about sheep, or of maggots from the heads of slaugh- 

 tered sheep or found on the ground where sheep are 

 feeding. 



Some peculiar Bees' Nests. 

 Among the Hymenoptera, that group of insects which 

 includes ants, bees, wasps, etc., are to be found many 

 habits of interest to every observer. Among these habits 

 nest building is one of the most prominent, as many of the 

 different bees' and wasps' nests occur in places where they 

 are easily seen. The mud daubers, or mason bees, as they 

 are called in the AVest Indies, furnish interesting examples 

 of mud nests, which are to be found in sheds and other 

 buildings, while the wild bees. Jack Spaniard and other.s, 

 build a variety of paper nests. These latter, builders and 

 inhabitants of paper nests, are the social wasps, while the 



former, builders of mud nests, are solitary wasps. Among 

 the true bees we find both solitary and social habits ; the 

 honey bee furnishing a good example of the social bee, 

 and the leaf-cutting bee a good example of the .solitary bee. 



Among the leaf-cutting bees there is to be found 

 a great variety of nests. One genus of this grouii, Megachile, 

 which is represented in the West Indies, has some species 

 that are true leaf-cutters and others that use mud in the 

 construction of their nests. It may be interesting to 

 refer to the nest-building habits of two common West 

 Indian species. Mei/acfdle flavitarsata makes its nests 

 of pieces of leaves neatly cut out and so fastened together 

 as to form a tubular nest in which several cells are 

 made by means of transverse partitions. The leaves of the 

 rose, the Cassia Fistula, and the silk cotton are used for the 

 purpose. Megachile martindale makes its nest of mud, 

 generally inside some tubular cavity. The centre of a roll 

 of cloth in a store-room, the base of a corn leaf, the rubber 

 tubing and metal taps in laboratories, etc., are all used for 

 this purpose. A cavity about A inch to | inch in diameter 

 is usually chosen, and this is lined with a layer of mud, the 

 inside of this lining being covered with a delicate waxy 

 substance which makes the inside of the nest very smooth. 

 These nests are stored with the pollen of flowers on which 

 the larva of the bee probably feeds. 



In distilleries, refineries, or sugar works, when any 

 tubing or any taps or faucets are to be left unused for any 

 length of time, much annoyance or even damage would be 

 avoided if each opening were lightly plugged with cotton or 

 fine straw, thus preventing the entrance of the bees. 



LIBERIAN COFFEE. 



The following note on Liberian coffee is extracted 

 from the U. S. Monthly Considar Reports : — 



Liberian cott'ee is considered by experts to be one of the 

 best qualities of coffee. It is used in the great coffee 

 markets to strengthen and give flavour to the weaker kinds. 

 But for the Liberian coft'ee contained therein, man}- of the 

 popular brands would be without that delicious flavour which 

 commands for them such wide markets. 



A few years ago, when the Hemileia vastatrix wrought 

 such havoc among the coffee trees of Ceylon, India, Java, 

 and Brazil, Libt-rian plants, because of their ability to resist 

 the attacks of the pest, were used to replace the old trees. 



I'ntil about 1896, Liberian coftee commanded from 

 ISc. to 22c. per It), in the markets of the world, and large and 

 flourishing coffee farms sprang u}). But following the 

 simultaneous large-scale production of cofl'ee in Ceylon, India,. 

 Java, Brazil, and other places in West Africa, under the 

 latest improved methods of cultivation, and with the best 

 machinery for hulling and the final grading, there came 

 a disastrous decline in the price. It commands now from 

 .5c. to Sc. per lb. Large coffee farms are often abandoned to 

 woods. Yet, possibly, tlie price of Liberian coffee would 

 rise if the coffee farms were placed under scientific 

 cultivation ; if, tlirough washing, or other processes, the 

 beans were made to lose a certain bitterness objectionable 

 to some ; if the coffee were presented to market in better 

 condition by grading ; and if there were substituted the best 

 and most improved hulling machinery for the crude pestle 

 and mortar which break many beans. As it is, with better 

 and more general advertising in the United States, the real 

 and distinctive merits of the Liberian coffee would lead 

 many Americans to avail themselves of one of the best 

 coffees of the world. 



i 



