8 3 * 



'HE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[May i, 1885. 



are so many other forms of Might, almost equally destruct- 

 ive, that it is to be regretted Mr. Wood-Masou's researches 

 were limited to the two mentioned. 



Some years ago we collected a large variety of opinions 

 and remarks on the subject of "Blight." — specifying the 

 many different forms of blight to which the tea plant was 

 liable. As we then remarked: — "There is perhaps no 

 subject of more serious importance to the tea planter 

 than that of "blight." Come in whatever form it may, 

 it means very often the rum of his hopes, and the extent 

 of the money lost which the Industry has suffered in 

 tho past few years from red spider and other pests 

 renders it a matter of astonishment that proprietors have 

 been content to sit down quietly under the infliction 

 instead of long ere this having orgauized a searching 

 and thorough scientific investigation into the evil." As we 

 say, then, it is to be regretted that Mr. Wood-Mason's 

 researches were limited to only two varieties. But as 

 this is so, it may not be uninstructive to reproduce certain 

 of the opinions given, and information obtained, at the 

 time we first took up the subject. Planters may, by the 

 light of more recent experience, be now able to furnish 

 additional facts and the results of more recent experi- 

 ments essayed in the way of remedy against the evil 

 which still exists in all its force. We have not only 

 the Tea Bug and the Red Spider committing their ravages, 

 but there is Blister-blight Caterpillar, Borer, Orange 

 Beetle, Green Fly, and other varieties of pests almost 

 equally worthy of notice as the Tea Bug and the Tea 

 Mite. "Why Mr. Wood-Mason should have confined his 

 attention to the two latter only, we do not know. Prob- 

 ably the time at his disposal was insufficient to enable 

 him to inquire regarding other than the two forms of 

 blight he has selected. Still, it is manifest that the 

 subject of Tea Blights has only very partially been 

 dealt with in way of " investigation, " and the necessity 

 still exists for much further and more comprehensive en- 

 quiry. We trust, therefore, that those of our readers who 

 may have made auy recent special study of the subject of 

 Blights as affecting the tea plant will supplement the 

 information, which at present only to a very limited extent 

 exists, in regad to possible remedies against Tea pests. 

 The least harmful of these, Mr. S. E. Peal states, is 

 perhaps the caterpillar, and from its size it is more 

 readily seen, being from 2 to 2A inches long. It attacks 

 the foliage only. Children, on some estates, are employ- 

 ed to "weed" this blight, and on a garden at Hope 

 Town we saw several casks full of caterpillars which 

 had been brought in by littie nimble "pluckers," in 

 baskets— the payment being so much for each basket- 

 ful. Half a mauud of caterpillars a day can, it is said, 

 oe collected by five or six children. If the caterpillar 

 is, as Mr. Peal says, the least harmful of all, if can 

 only be in the sense that it can be readily detected, 

 for it will completely strip a bush in a short time, leaving 

 only the stems. There is another variety of caterpillar 

 — the Borer. This attacks the stem, and "is generally 

 not seen till some damage has beeu done," which 

 consists of " the leaves drooping " turning red, and dying." 

 It thus causes more real damage than caterpillar. The 

 only known remedy for this pest is discovery and de- 

 struction. Children can in this case also be employed, as 

 a hole is always detected, from which it works upwards 

 or downwards. 



Another pest. Orange beetle, though an insect feeding | 

 on grass and on other plants besides tea, is a formid- 

 able tea pest, as, says Mr. Peal, the insect may ruin 

 half a dozen shoots as one morning's work. As these 

 beetles fly, ard are easily caught, boys with butterfly 

 nets can keep down the evil a good deal. Mr. Peal 

 says: "A boy can easily bag 300 beetles per hour if 

 they be at all plentiful, and the net need notbe emptied 

 till 21) or so are caught." 



Then we come to the Tea Aphis, which is :t serious 

 enemy to the tea plant indeed. The female lays COO or 

 700 eggs in the cracks of the bark, says Mr Peal. These 

 eggs are hatched in the ensuing spring, "and in 8 or 

 10 days an- lull grown ; and at onee. without the inter- 

 vention of a male, begin to lav. not eggs, but Imsls 

 of young Aphis ready hatched, each of which in 8 or 

 10 days again repeats the above." Tue Aphis "is from 

 Jth to Jjth of an inch long, ami of a glistening pal e 



green color. In attacking tea, the young leaves and ste m 

 alone are punctured, growth becomes remarkably axres*- 

 ed, the ■mternodes or stems between the eyes become 



appearaiice." 1 ^'^ ^^ * **. aud dw » rfed 



Then we have the cricket, which is so common and 

 destructive in Cachar. A correspon.lent thus describes 

 it:— This insect is about 1J inch in length when full 

 grown, and lives in small burrows, sometimes singly, some- 

 times two or three in one hole. The burrows frequently 

 penetrate to a great depth, and where the crickets 

 are so numerous that it becomes necessary to dig them 

 out (which sometimes happens), the tunnels are followed 

 a foot and a half or two feet, and even then not un- 

 commonly without avail. The cricket feeds on the young 

 leaves of the young plants; and to obtain these he cut! 

 through the stem of the plant about three-quarters of 

 an inch from the ground, and then carries off the top 

 to his hole, so that each meal which the insect makes 

 causes a vacancy; and where they appear in auy number, 

 the destruction may be imagined. They will cut through 

 a stem as thick as a pencil without difficulty, ard 

 amongst small plants iu a , U rsey they sometimes do in- 

 calculable mischief. I have seen them attack an old 

 garden, where they ate off the young shoots, and thus 

 did a great deal of harm to the succeeding flushes; but 

 1 have only once seen this occur. 



Then again, there is the "grub," which at certain 

 elevations is to be found in thousands. It is the progeny 

 of beetles. It will desert the tea bush, however, for 

 rottmg vegetation, so may be readily caught. 



Then there is the "blister blight," exactly as though a 

 red-hot iron had been placed close to the leaf, and 

 scorched it black. But, says a "Darjeeling Planter" — 

 One of the worst pests is a very small black fly less than 

 half the size of a pipsa, which attacks the stalk of the 

 young flush and retards its growth wonderfully, giving 

 the tree something of the look of a bhanji flush. 

 There is no doubt that most of these blights are brought 

 up every year, more or less, by the winds from the 

 plains aud the Terai. The rain at the commencement of 

 this season did not allow of the usual burning of jungle 

 to the extent of former years, and the rains since have 

 been very slight;— no heavy downpours which would 

 have drowned most of these small insects called blight J 

 so that theyjiave increased and multiplied, and become 

 perfect pests. I have large forest trees both in my 

 house garden and outside, and also toon aud other trees 

 in the forest, completely denuded of leaf by small in- 

 visible insects. These cannot have been deteriorated by 

 over-plucking, since rose and other garden-plants and 

 peach and filbert trees are also suffering in the same- 

 manner,— while the willow, pear, fir, and other trees are 

 not as yet touched. Fumigation drives away for a time 

 the mosquito and the other smaller insects that have 

 wings, but only to settle iu other trees a little further 

 olf ; it does not kill them. Watering with salt water (a 

 weak solution) drives them out grandly for a time, but 

 they come back again. 



The salt, if a weak solution, does not hurt the leaf, 

 but helps to strengthen the root, as it must eventually 

 be washed there by the action of the rain. I have in 

 healthy seasons sprinkled salt on the ground at the root 

 ol the plant, and it has had a very good effect iu 

 lengthening the Hush. The salt was given at the rate 

 of 2 maunds per acre for each application and given 

 four times dining the plucking season. I would re- 

 commend it as one of the means of hardening and 

 strengthening the plant, without deteriorating the flush. 

 I was recommended to water my trees with lime water, 

 but considering that to carry the water would be a great 

 trouble and expense, I commenced to dust the plants 

 with lime, leaving it to the clouds to furnish the water 

 From dusting lightly I changed to dusting heavily. I 

 noticed that the light dusting did not appear to hurt 

 the plants; therefore I plucked clean, and dusted with 

 lime heavily. This appears to have driven away every 

 insect clean out of the tea trees. It is yet to be seen 

 whether it will improve or spoil the next flush. Trees 

 sheltered from the wind from the plaius appear as yet 

 to have escaped the various blights. 



