A BEETLE WHICH ATTACKS YAMS. 



There is a beetle in Singapore of the genus Lenia or Criocera 

 Avhich attacks yams. 



Into the Ijulbils of Dioscorea bidhifera when mature it l)urrows 

 to feed itself: and lives on the plants continuously and may often be 

 seen '' in cop.'" half in these burrows and half out. In the burrows 

 the eggs are laid : they are of a pale yellow at first, but the colour 

 darkens almost to horn-colour. So .far as seen the eggs are not 

 more than four or five in number in each group. They seem to 

 take some time in hatching. The young grub is Avhite with a black 

 head and a small black mark just behind it. It has tiny hairs. 

 When mature it is of a dull red and then it leaves the bulbil within 

 which it has fed and presumedly burrows into the earth. The 

 bulbil by this time is in Singa])ore a putrid mass, tunnelled all 

 through. 



So far no economic importance attaches to the insect, because 

 it is only known to attack the aerial bulbils of Dioscorea bulbifera 

 which, though eaten in India and Java and elsewhere, are not used 

 in the Malay Peninsula. 



I. H. BURKILL. 



SOME TESTS OF GARDEN VEGETABLES 

 IN SINGAPORE. 



The Singapore markets are well supplied with the coarser 

 garden vegetables : they afford fair carrots and beets, coarse sweet 

 potatoes, a fair cruciferous substitute for the cabbage and abundance 

 of the large and very rank Chinese radishes. Small but very good 

 tomatoes are occasionalh' tp be obtained. But certain features of 

 the Chinese cultivation are abhorrent to the European ; and he 

 does not use these vegetables with any great zest, even after the 

 most careful methods of cleansing that can be employed. 



Most Europeans in Singapore maintain more or less spacious 

 compounds, thus furnishing extraordinarily good opportunities for 

 the establishing of home-gardens. Many have tried to do so, but 

 rarely with any marked success : and moreover when in isolated 

 instances success is achieved, the chance experimenter has forgotten 

 the trade name of the seed which gave him the results, or has not 

 got the name and address of tlie firm which produced that seed. 



For in this matter if must be recognised tliat a great number 

 of distinct varieties with accepted trade names have been isolated 

 •and established by expert horticulturists and are bred practically 

 true for tlie trade, often through very considerable series of years. 

 Of beans for instance, tliere are many hnndreds on the seed-markets 

 of the world now. and these differ remarkably in form, size, and 

 colour of bean, in edibility of ])od. in length of time to maturity 

 and in reaction to soil, climate and disease. Some thrive best in 

 the wet season, othci-s in the drier time. Some prefer very light 



