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THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



April 8, 1905. 



INSECT NOTES. 



Popular Names. 



In dealing with insects, as well as with other animals 

 and with plants, two kinds of names are used, viz., the 

 popular or common name and the technical or scientific 

 name. Scientific names are usually of Latin and Greek 

 derivation and are alike in all countries. That i.s to say, 

 although an insect may have a dift'erent common name in 

 each country or locality where it occurs, the .same scientific 

 name holds good in all places. Thus the canna worm of 

 Barbados is the arrowroot worm of St. Vincent, and the .same 

 insect is known as the Brazilian 'skipper' in many other 

 places, but entomologists in all parts of the world recognize 

 it under its scientific name CalpoJts etiiliuf. The insect 

 which is known in the West Indies as the corn ear worm 

 and in the United States as the fall army worm is Lipht/ffina 

 fru'jiperda. The sweet potato pest, known in the Northern 

 "islands as Macob.s,' is known in Barbados as the ' Scaribee,' 

 and its technical name is Cnjptorhym'hm hatatae. 



On the other hand, the same common name may, in 

 dilTerent localitie.s, be applied to ditteront insects. The moth 

 borer of canes in the West Indies is Diatmed Mccharalis, but 

 in other countries other moths are moth borers. The same is 

 true of the cotton worm. In America and the West Indies 

 the cotton worm is Aletia arffillacea, but in Egypt and India 

 other caterpillars eat the leaves of cotton and are known as 

 cotton worms. 



It does not often happen, however, that insects of 

 entirely dift'erent habits are given the same name. An 

 example of this is to be noticed in the West Indian use of 

 the name 'Lady-bird.' In England, America, Australia, 

 South Africa, and other countries where English is the 

 principal language, the term lady-bird is applied to a_ large 

 family of beetles (Coccinellidae) which, almost without 

 exception, are beneficial in their habits. Lady -birds feed 

 upon other insects such as plant lice and scale insects and 

 only a few of the large number of species in the family have 

 the habit of eating plant food. In the West Indies, however, 

 the name lady-bird is applied to a few members of a large 

 groui) of beetles (Rhyncophora) which are very different in 

 structure and habit from the Coccinellidae. They are the 

 snout beetles, bill-bugs, and weevils, all having the front of 

 the head prolonged to form a snout or lieak with the mouth 

 at the end of it. They are all injurious, feeding on plants, 

 some in fruits, some at the roots, and some in stored seeds, 

 grain.s, etc. Connnon examples of tliis group are the weevil 

 borer of canes and the root borer of canes, the fiddler beetle 

 of .lamaica, the weevil that attacks the roots of orange trees 

 in Porto Rico, the grain weevil, and the rice weevil. It is 

 unfortunate that people should understand this name to 

 refer to such widely different in.sect.?, as it will be difficult for 

 those who think of the weevils and borers as lady-birds, _ to 

 nnderstand the advantage to be reaped from the protection 

 of the highly beneficial insects of the family Coccinellidae, the 

 true lady-birds, which, at considerable trouble and expense, 

 are being introduced into various 

 controlling scale insects. 



RIVERS' SEA ISLAND COTTON SEED. 



The Hon. Francis Watts, C.M.G., D.Sc, has 

 forwarded for publication the following account of 

 experiments undertaken with a view of ascertaining 

 the reason for the lack of uniformity in the appearance 

 of this imported seed : — 



Upon the arrival of the Rivers' Sea Island cotton seed, 

 which, in order to secure the production of the best kind of 

 Sea island cotton, had been procured by the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture, it was observed that the seed was 

 not perfectly uniform in character, some seeds were black and 

 free from fuzz, others had a small tuft of fuzz at one, or both, 

 extremities, others again had patches of fuzz on the body of 

 the seeds, while some were fairly covered with fuzz, and, 

 finally, some seeds were completely covered. 



This condition gave rise to some inquiry as to the purity 

 of the seed. Sir Daniel Morris was, however, in a position to 

 allay any anxiety by his statement as to the care he had 

 taken to select this seed personally while on a visit to the 

 Sea Islands of South Carolina, the seed being from one of the 

 best-known cotton plantations, well known for its production 

 of fine cotton and for supplying seed which is eagerly sought 

 after by Sea Island cotton planters. The suggestion that the 

 fuzz on some of the seeds indicated an admixture with 

 I'liland cotton was negatived by the fact that no Upland 

 cotton is produced in the district from which the seed was 

 obtained. 



In order to investigate the character of these various 

 types of seed a quantity of seed was graded into the following 

 classes : — 



Grade i. Quite free from fuzz. 

 ,, ii. Nearly free from fuzz. 

 ,, iii. Slight amount of fuzz. 

 ,, iv. Partially covered with fuzz. 

 ,, V. Completely covered with fuzz. 

 The seed so obtained was lUanted out on plots numbered 

 i to V, ciirresponding with the similarly numbered grades of 

 seeds. In addition a [ilot of -J^ acre was planted with seed 

 completely covered with fuzz. 



The cotton from these plots has now been reaped and 

 the following facts observed : — 



The lints of the five grades present no marked 

 differences. They will, however, be submitted to experts for 

 opinion. 



The seed from each grade has been regarded in the 

 following manner. A carefully selected sample of 500 seeds, 

 taken with care so as to represent the bulk, was obtained. 

 These 500 seeds were graded into classes as described above 

 with the addition of a sixth grade for defective or abortive 

 seeds. The results are given in percentages in the following 

 table :— 



countries to assist ni 



