Vol. XVI. No. 403. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



315 



leave the gullet near its junction with the paunch, and enter 

 the connective tissue of the diaphragm, which they follow 

 between the strands of muscle downwards and outwards till 

 they reach the cartilage of the ribs. They then proceed along 

 the posterior border of a rib — always in the conueetive 

 tissue -and either go straight to the hide of the back in that 

 region or find their way into the spinal canal, from which 

 they can emerge again nearer the animal's tail.' 



Having found their way to the back they puncture the 

 skin, and complete their growth until they become 'ripe'. 

 They then emerge from their warbles and pupate in the 

 ground, emerging as flies in about five weeks, on the average. 



TREATMENT FOR \V> RBLE FLY MAGGOT.S. 



It is now generally recognized, both in Europe and in 

 North America, that the best control method against the 

 warble fly is the systematic destruction of the mature 

 m-'ggots by squeezing them out of the warbles before they 

 emerge of themselves and drop to the ground to pupate. 



In some of the countries of Europe it has been recom- 

 mended that the cattle be kept under shelter during the 

 heat of the day when the flies are likely to be trouble.iome. 



One of the old methods of control by the use of pre- 

 ventive smears on the back has died hard, in spite of the fact 

 that it has long been known that the flies do not lay their 

 eggs on the back 



A number of experiments were made by Carpenter from 

 1904 to try and find out whether preventive smears 

 would be of any avail if applied to the legs and other parts of 

 the body except the back. The results showed that such 

 treatment is not efifective, since the smeared cattle were 

 about as badly affected with warble maggots as the untreated. 

 Carpenter, Hewitt and others have also carried out numerous 

 experiments with a large number of preparations, with the 

 idea of trying to kill the maggots on the back of the animal 

 by applying ointments of various kinds to the holes made by 

 the maggots, but so far no satisfactory preparation has been 

 discovered. Those applications that were most efficient in 

 killing the larvae were at the same time injurious to the 

 cattle. 



Many <>{ these experiments have also been tried in some 

 of the continental countries of Europe with the same results. 



Amona other experiments performed by Carpenter were 

 some in which cattle were muzzled to see whether warbles 

 would develop in animals which were prevented from licking 

 themselves. There was some difficulty in securing efTective 

 muzzling, but when this was most thorough there seemed to 

 be an increase, rather than a decrease, of warbles in the animal. 



It has been estimated that the loss caused by these 

 pests in Europe alone amounts to millions of pounds annually; 

 this includes deterioration of the hides, interference with 

 nutrition and growth, and considerable loss of milk. 



It may be mentioned that there is always a danger of 

 warble flies being introduced into the West Indies through 

 maggots coming in on imported cattle, although this is not 

 nearly as great now asit was years ago on account of the greater 

 attei'tion given to cattle at the present time. An instance of 

 the totry of these maggots actually occurred a few years ago 

 when some of them were found on cattle imported from 

 Canada into one of the islands. The young maggots had 

 evidently gone into the cattle before they left the North, and 

 the warbles only began to appear after the animals had been 

 in the island several ironths. Every precaution was taken 

 to squeeze out all the maggots before they could escape, and 

 nothing more has since been heard of this pest in that 

 locality. 



J.C.H. 



ECONOMICAL FEEDING OF PIGS. 



It is clear that the feeding of pigs on foods suitable for 

 human consumption is not at the present time in the national 

 interest. They must be restricted as far as possible to foods 

 which cannot be used for human beings. 



Wherever possible, pigs should be turned out to pasture. 

 The growing of special forage crops for folding with pigs, or 

 for 'soiling', is not to be recommended at present in view of 

 the necessity of using arable land for the cultivation of 

 cereals. 



Green food alone will not as a rule fatten pigs, but it 

 will keep them in healthy growing condition, and "save a great 

 deal of meal. With a few weeks of sty feediuii on concen- 

 trated food at the end of the grazing period prime bacon 

 can be produced. Barren sows have actually been fattened 

 on good pasture without any aupplecuentary foods, and 

 palatable pork can also be produced under the same con- 

 ditions. It is neces.sary that pigs should be accustomed 

 gradually to the outdoor life. 



Fencing is of course a difficulty at the present time; 

 it may, however be worth mentioning that, in the event of 

 pigs nosing' under a fence, a barbed wire fixed close to the 

 ground will prove a sure deterrent. Two strands of barbed 

 wire fixed 6 inches and 1-5 inches, respectively, from the 

 ground will effectually confine all pigs. (The Journal of the 

 Board of Agriculture, July 1917.) 



AGRICULTURE IN BARBADOS. 



The rainfall for September has been, up to the present, 

 a moderate one. In most districts the total for the month 

 has been under 3 inches. In spite of the moderate rain- 

 fall for the month, the growth of the crops has not yet 

 been impeded, although a heavy rain is needed to hasten 

 their development. 



The employment nf large gangs for weeding in some 

 districts is also a serious drawback to manure making, 

 inasmuch as under such circumstances the collecting of bush 

 can receive but slight attention. 



We lean towards the opinion that the clearing of the 

 weeds and grjss out of the fields at the time when weeding 

 can be conveniently and effectively done, does not receive 

 on some estates the close attention that it should. 



We have reached a stage in the history of agriculture 

 when everything should be done that will lead to the 

 improvement of the condition of the soil, and the consequent 

 increase in the crops produced. The improvement of the 

 .soil was never more important than it is to-day. Scientific 

 research has revoiutionized every industry, including agricul- 

 ture, in all the big centres of the world, and if we are to 

 hold our own we must set everything in order for the race 

 in which we run. In this connexion there are four things 

 which are of great importance: tillage, manurial treatment, 

 the systematic resting of fields, rotation of crops. These 

 constitute what mny be termed sugar estate economy. The 

 output must increase when these principles are observed, 

 while the outlay will not grow in proportion. 



There has been as yet no change in the price of potatoes 

 as the May and June sowings are not yet fit for the market. 

 Uur Christ Church correspondent wonders whether it will 

 be possible to dispose of the potato crop when the fields in 

 general have reached maturity. Should we have more 

 ground provisions than could be consumed locally, we should 

 have a ready market among our sister islands. There are 

 some spots of early yams nearly ripe, and Indian corn flour 

 is being sold at 4c. per pint (The Agricultural Reporter 

 September 22, 1917.) 



