90 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 17, 1906. 



INSECT NOTES. 



The Acme Powder Bellows. 



In a recent number of the Agricultural Xews (Vol. V, 

 p. 46) mention was made of the use in the Sea Islands of 

 South Carolina of a small hand bellows for applying Paris 

 green to cotton plants. One of the.se machines, which is 

 marked the ' Acme Powder Bellows,' has been obtained by 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture. It is a very 

 simple hand bellows with handles about IS inches long, and 

 with a funnel at the nozzle end. About j lb. o( Paris green 

 is used as a charge for the machine, and it is thrown out by 

 quick pressure on the handles. A small inverted cone inside 

 the funnel helps to s])read the jioison, which comes out with 

 some force, and with a good tendency to .spread. The cost of 

 this machine should be small, ancl it seems likely that 

 a labourer will be able to accomplish much more with it than 

 with the bag, which is ordinarily used. 



Field experiments are, however, necessary to prove its 

 value when u.sed on a large scale. According to the printed 

 directions which accompany each bellows, only pure Paris 

 green .should be used, but from the few trials already made, 

 it seems likely that the inixture of lime and Paris green, 

 which is used in the West Indies, could bo satisfactorily 

 applied by means of this machine. 



The Mango Weevil in Hawaii. 



In a lecent number of the Hawaiian Forester 

 and Agrictdturivt an account is given of the mango 

 weevil {Crypto rliynchus mamji ferae, Fabr.) : — 



It was first noticed in Hawaii in 1905, when there were 

 found in mango seeds, the larvae and pupae of a beetle, 

 which during their larval development had fed entirely on 

 the seed contents. 



Since the life-cycle is passed within the seed, and the 

 female, as is customary with the species of this family, 

 deposits the egg in the food of the larva, the in.sect must 

 have been introduced in fruit or seeds of the mango, brought 

 to the islands for propagation, from India or possibly the 

 Philipiiines. It is evident that the fruit is infested in the 

 ver}' earlj- stages of its development, since there is no indica- 

 tion of the entrance of the larva into the seed through the 

 seed husk. The work of the very young larva is evident, 

 but no jwint of entrance is to be observed. It would seem 

 that the length of the life-cycle of the insect is somewhat 

 longer than the time of development of the fruit, from the 

 fact that .seeds removed from matured mangos contain the 

 larval weevil. 



By removing the husk of the seed, the presence of the 

 weevil is easily detected, and therefore all seeds planted 

 .should be thus treated. This is good horticultural practice 

 in any event. Until the distribution of this in.sect [jest in 

 the islands, and its life-cycle, habits, and food plants are 

 better understood, it is urged that mangos should not 

 be indiscriminately distributed from place to place. At the 

 beginning of the next mango season, an inspection of the 

 various districts will be made, and it is hoped that, by that 

 time, jiractical and efficient measures of controlling the pest 



can be given. If the in.sect is found to attack only the 

 mango, and its present distribution is determined as being 

 confined to certain districts, it may be that by a rigorous 

 quarantine and the destruction of the crop, the pest can be 

 stamjied out. 



As to direct remedies, if it is found that infested fruits 

 fall to the ground, they should be collected and destroyed. 

 It may be that, as is the practice with the Plum Curculio, 

 the adult beetle can be jarred from the trees on to sheets in 

 the early season before they infest the fruit ; or, if the adults 

 feed on the leaves of the mango, they can be poisoned by 

 s])raying with Paris green or Arsenate of lead. 



AGRICULTURAL DON'TS. 



The following are the Ayricidtural Don'fs to 

 which reference has been made in the review of 

 a Jamaica book entitled A(jricidtur(d Practices and 

 Moral's given on p. 93 : — 



(1) Don't have the land about your house uncultivated 

 and in bush. A clean yard means a healthy house. 



(2) Don't be too careless (or lazy) to dig deep and often, 

 to water freely, and to manure ami weed regularly. 

 The wealth that lies in our soil requires digging 

 for. Plants obtain food more readily in a well- 

 tilled soil. Water is both a food and a food-carrier. 

 ^Manure makes your land rich. It is only paying 

 your debt to the .soil. Weeds rob the [ilant of food 

 and water, and look ugly. 



(3) Don't plant any but the best seeds from the best 

 plants. If the best seed be planted, and the best care 

 be given to the growing plant, you ma}- expect to 

 reap the best harvest. 



(I) Don't allow any fruit that is to be sold or shipjied 

 to be Ijriiised in any way. Bananas, oranges, or 

 other friut that is allowed to fall to the ground, 

 or is scjueezed, or sat upon in cart or hamper, will 

 surely show the damage later on, and bring low 

 prices. 



(5) Don't spoil your market, and injure the reputation 

 of Jamaica, by selling bad stuff Oranges unfit for 

 food ; corn, coffee, cacao, ginger, and pimento, 

 cured over a fire, or on a dirty barbecue, or not 

 thoroughly dried and cleaned, all spoil your prices, 

 and disgrace the island. 



(6) Don't neglect to destroy caterpillars and other 

 destructive insect.s, as soon as you see them. The 

 first few caterpillars maj' easily be killed, if you 

 keep your eyes open. If allowed to live, thousands 

 may follow, and the lo-ss caused may be great. 

 ' A stitch in time saves nine ' — or nine hundred ! 



(7) Don't starve, overwork, or in any way ill-treat any 

 animal. A good man or woman can not ; a sensible 

 man or woman ivill not. 



(8) Don't neglect to see that all animals under your 

 care are regularly and well fed. People like their 

 meals regularly ; so do dumb animals. 



(9) Don't forget to keep all your animals and their 

 surroundings clean. Pick off ticks : cleanse sores ; 

 groom regularly. ' Prevention is better than cure.' 



(10) Don't tolerate the i)raedial thief. True sons and 

 daughters of Jamaica nnist never speak to, or have 

 anything to do with, any one who steals from 

 another man's ' grrmnd,' garden, or home. Be 

 honest in even the smallest things. An employer's 

 goods or stock should be handled at least as 

 carefully as your own. 



