October i, 1884.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



*59 



holt. Wo had hoped at one time to try an experi- 

 ment with the large Australian shrikes, known as 

 "magpies," hut this valuable insectivorous bird is 

 carefully protected. How bird life is to ba intro- 

 duced and permanently retained on our plantations 

 is the prohlom. Where are they to find food when 

 grubs are not available. A few small birds camo to 

 feed on the seeds of the cinchonas, while gunn and 

 grevilleas encourage others, but progress is very slow. 

 The forests which coffee plantations have replaced 

 were singularly destitute of bird life, but prominent 

 were flocks of minas. We know what has become 

 of the jungle fowls and pigeons, but what has be- 

 come of the minas, eminently insectivorous as those 

 birds are? We fear the 'coolies have been allowed to 

 Bhoot everything indiscriminately. Of another and 

 allied beetle, the Green Eose Chafer, Cctonia arala, 

 Miss Omerod says : — 



This chafer is injurious both in the larval and perfect 

 state. In the first — that is, as a grub — it feeds on the 

 roots of strawberries, grass, and other plants; as a beetle 

 it frequents many kinds of flowers, including the ro6e, 

 from which it takes one of its names ; but is more es- 

 pecially injurious by its attack on strawberry-blossoms, 

 and to the flowers of turnips left for seed, where it eats 

 off the anthers frrm the stamens and thus renders the 

 flowers abortive. 



The eggs are laid in the ground, where the maggots 

 hatch and feed for two or three years. When full-grown 

 they are upwards of an inch and a half in length, thick 

 and fleshy, of a whitish colour, with an ochreous head 

 armed with strong jaws; the pairs of short feet are of a 

 rush ochreous colour, and the hinder portion of the grub 

 or maggot is enlarged, curved towards the head, and ot 

 a lead-colour. These grubs are much like those of the 

 cockchafer, but are distinguished by having a horny 

 rusty spot on each side of the segment behind the head, 

 and by the body being clothed with transverse rows of 

 rusty-coloured hairs ; whereas the grub of the cock- 

 chafer is almost hairless, and is without the rusty 

 spots. 

 And then 



Prevention and Remedies. — The beetles are so large 

 and so sluggish in dull weather that there is then no 

 diffculty in taKing them by haud ; during sunshine they 

 may be taken with a bag-net, and destroyed in any way 

 that may be most convenient. 



Where the maggots ase numerous, they should be got 

 riil of by turning over the soil, or by spreading neglected 

 heaps of rich earth, old cucumber-beds, and similar 

 places which they frequent, and hand-picking all that 

 are seen. Poultry will help very much in clearing the 

 grubs, if driven in whilst the ground is being turned 

 over. 



Where the attack is on the roots of growing plants, 

 it will be found serviceable to have few tame Rooks or 

 Sea Gulls in the garden, as they can dig down with 

 their bills amongst the roots which could not otherwise 

 be meddled with, and clear large numbers of the grul s 

 without harming the plants. 



The Eose Chafer when about to deposit her eggs will 

 sweep round on the wing until she sees a suitable spot, 

 and — hardly pausing from her flight — will disappear at 

 once down any crack that may be open in the ground 

 or into a nook amongst boards, or otherwise ; ami the 

 grubs may be found in the decayed wood-soil that ac- 

 cummulates within old hollow trees. It is therefore de- 

 sirable to remove all wood-rubbisb, and also heaps of 

 decaying sawdust that may attract the beetle or shelter 

 the grubs. 



So that the great remedies are insectivorous wild 

 birds or poultry, retnedb s which are, in OeyloD, 

 very difficult to apply. Indeed there is but poor 

 encouragements at present to try any experiments, 

 but better days will come and we may be able yet 

 to rejoice in the practical disappearance of bug and 

 grub and fungus. 



Here we close for the present but We may resume the 

 subject, 



THE STATISTICS OF BRITISH INDIA. 

 In the volume sent us by the Indian Government 

 there is ample information respecting the various rail- 

 way systems of India, which shows the progress made 

 since the first section was constructed by Mr. Faviell 

 in 1856, and also the progress being made. But, as 

 the figures only come up to 1882, and much later 

 information has been published in connection with 

 the Parliamentary Committee which has sanctioned 

 large and important extensions, mainly on the broad 

 gauge, we need not quote figures. So, with reference 

 to demarcated forest reserves, we need merely mention 

 that between 1873-74 and 1882, the area had increased 

 from 10, 000 square miles to 49,000. Forestry in India 

 is now attended to by a large and well-trained service, 

 who adhere generally to the system and principles 

 elaborated by Dr. Brandis, to whose merits cordial 

 testimony is borne in the latest number of the Indian 

 Forester. The cinchona statistics are brought up to 

 1883, when on the several Government plantations in 

 Sikkim there were 2,294 acres in cultivation, with 

 4.711.16S trees permanently planted, stock and nursery 

 plants bringing up the total to 5,045,391. As yet, 

 the larger proportion by far consists of red barks, 

 the acreage in succirubra being 1.S70 with 3,713,200 

 plants in the field. There are 275 acres of C. Odlisaya 

 with 662,998 plants permanently out, the grand total 

 being 877,218. Of officinalis there are only 9 acres 

 with 25,000 plants, but 138 acres under hybrids have 

 304,378 plants permanently out, stock and nursery 

 plants bringing up the total to 354,078. The tend- 

 ency no doubt will be to root out the red barks and 

 to give special attention to the best Calisayas (in- 

 cluding Ledgers) and the richest hybrids. There is 

 a small plantation in Burma which has not been a 

 success. The plants are given at 



C. succirubra 47,706 



„ Calisaya 21,418 



„ officinalis 11,193 



Total... 80,317 

 The Kalhati plantation, Mysore, with 35,735 plants 

 had been sold to a private party. The acreage of 

 the Nilgiri plantations is given at S47, in which the 

 plants permanently out were 967,705, against plants 

 raised since 1S79— 3,4S4,616. Unlike British Sikkim, 

 where officinalis proved an absolute failure, the great 

 majority of the plants on the Nilgiris are of this 

 species, thus : — 



C. officinalis 714,675 



„ succirubra 1S3.498 



„ pubescens (hybrid) ... 55,624 



,, Ledgeriana 2,452 



Hybrids and others ... 9,613 

 C Pitayensis , ... ... 44 



,, Carthagena 10 



,, Santa Fe 5 



Total... 967,795 

 The " plants raised" during 18S3, included no succi- 

 rubra, which is significant, but there were no fewer 

 than 577,500 officinalis, which shows the faith placed 

 in this species. It at once found a home in the 

 deep rich soil of Dodabetta and has yielded large 

 quantities of bark far richer in quinine than any 

 of the same kiud evrr received from South America. 

 There can be no question in our mind that the 

 reason why 0. officinalis failed so largely in Ceylon 

 was due to the stiff soil, and especially the cole 1 



