218 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



July 15, 1905 



INSECT NOTES. 



The Red Maggot of Cotton. 



This insect first came to notice in a field of ratoon cotton 

 in Barbados in Xc-)vember 190."^, wlicrc it did considerable 

 damage. Since that time it has been found in many parts of 

 Barbados, and s[ieciniens have also been received from 

 Montserrat. A brief acconnt of the red maggot was given 

 in the West Indian Bu/ktiii (A'ol. IV, p. 335), and it is 

 mentioned in the Agricultural JVews (Vol. Ill, p. 426). 



The red maggot is the larva of a small fly which lays 

 its eggs in wounds or breaks in the bark of the cotton plant, 

 although attacks have been noticed on stems of cotton where 

 there have been no wounds in the bark, and it seems likelj' 

 that the insects arc able to get in through the uninjured 

 bark. The maggots when first hatched are whitish and very 

 small, but as they grow larger become reddish in colour. 

 The entire larval life is spent between the bark and the wood, 

 feeding in the cambium. 



The adult tly is a very small, two- winged insect with 

 long antennae and long slender legs. It belongs to the same 

 group of in.sects as the pear midge, the wheat midge, and the 

 Hessian fly, all of which are seriou.'- pests in other countries. 



This is the first insect of its kind that has l.ieen recorded 

 as attacking the cotton plant, and it has recently been named 

 and described from specimens sent by the Imperial Commis- 

 sioner of Agriculture to the Bureau of Entomology of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Mr. D. W. Cocpullet, to whom the specimens were 

 referred, reported that the insect was a species of Diplosis, 

 but after further study of additional material, he described 

 it in the Canadian. Entomoloyist (Vol. XXXVII, p. 200) 

 under the name l'or)'ichond//l(t r/oss>/pii, new species. 



0. jiiinctata is represented by specimens from Dominica and 

 St. Lucia, having also been recorded from Grenada, St. Vin- 

 cent, and Trinidad, while in Barbados it is apparently 

 replaced by a quite distinct species, which, judging from the 

 amount of material examined, is as abundant as 0. jninctala 

 is in the localities where found.' 



The species of Orphulella are small, brownish grass- 

 hoppers. The new species has been named Orphulella Balloui, 

 and the author says regarding the name : ' I take pleasure 

 in dedicating this species to Mr. H. A. Ballou, Entomologist 

 to the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West 

 Indies, through whose kindness I received the ))resent collec- 

 tion for study.' 



West Indian Orthoptera. 



In the Ent'uiwlogiml Nevs (Vol. XVI, No. G, p. 173) 

 Mr. James A. G. Kehn, of the Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia, publishes some ' Notes on a small collection 

 of Orihopjtera from the Lesser Antilles, with the description 

 of a new species of Orphulella.' 



The collection from which these notes were made was 

 sent to Mr. Rehn from the Imperial Department of Agri- 

 culture, and included specimens of the forms of Orthoptera 

 (earwigs, cockroaches, mantids, mole-crickets, crickets, and 

 grasshoppers) contained in the collection at Barbados. 



These notes are of special value and interest, as they 

 place on record the distribution of these insects and clear up 

 some doubtful points in nomenclature. Thirteen species are 

 not contained in the two pa[iers of Brunner and Redten- 

 bacher, which dealt with the extensive collections of Mr. H. H. 

 Smith in St. Vincent and Grenada. 



' ^^'ith few excejitions the following records are the first 

 from the islands represented, several South American forms 

 being here recorded from the West Indies for the first time. 



'Probably the most striking fact noticed in studying this 

 collection is that regarding the distribution of the" two 

 species of Orphulella here treated. The widely distributed 



AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS AT 

 BARBADOS. 



The Go\crnor of Barbado.s (Sir Uilburt T. Carter, 

 K.C.M.G.) in his speech delivered on the opening of 

 the Legislature on Tuesda}', July 4, made the following 

 reference to the planting industries of the island : — 



In view of the condition of the sugar industry in this 

 island and, so far as can be foreseen, its discouraging future, 

 I cannot help thinking that it would be wise to consider 

 seriously the cpiestion of raising other products of a more 

 profitable nature. I am aware that no lack of energy and 

 enterpri.-^c has been shown by the indefatigable head of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture and his capable statt' in 

 advancing this policy and putting it into practice, and it has 

 been demonstrated that cotton of the best quality can be 

 successfully grown not only in Barbados but in the adjacent 

 islands. Excellent bananas have also been cultivated, which it 

 has been found profitable to ship, and I have no doubt there 

 are other products still waiting which would give more lucra- 

 tive results than can be obtained from sugar. In this con- 

 nexion I may mention the species of Ji/ave which produces 

 the fibre known as 'Sisal.' This, after many vicissitudes, 

 owing to want of expert knowledge, is now successfully and 

 profitably cultivated in the Bahamas: there is a large demand 

 for this fibre in the L''nited States, and it is admitted free of 

 duty. I understand that a supposed experiment was made 

 with this plant here, but owing to a mistake having been 

 made in the species cultivated, it was a failure. The true 

 species Agave sisalaiia is easy of culture, is not attacked by 

 insect pests, and is unafFectecl by the climatic excesses either 

 of drought or rain. The fibre can be separated by hand if 

 desired, and machinery for extracting it is not of a very 

 expensive character. 



CRIOLLO CACAO IN JAMAICA. 



The Jamaica Gleaner has the following note on 

 a plantation of Criollo cacao in that island : — 



On May 15, Mr. W. Cradwick, Travelling Instructor, 

 and Mr. .F. W. Hill, manager for Jlessrs. Rowntree and Co., 

 in Jamaica, paid a visit to the cacao plantation at Copse 

 estate in Hanover. Mr. Hill expressed himself as highly 

 delighted with the cultivation there. The chief field consists 

 of 15 acres of pure Criollo cacao trees one year old, planted 

 10 feet apart. Mr. Hill said they were equal to the best 

 field of Forastoro plants that he had ever seen either in 

 St. Mary or Portland. He also expressed himself as highly 

 pleased with the prospects of obtaining pure Criollo cacao in 

 large quantities. At present this is an impossibility, the 

 cacao field at Copse being no doubt the largest field of any 

 pure-bred cacao in the world. 



