304 



shaw had worked considerably, to determine its suitability as a 

 breeding station on my probable return with parasites. 



Leaving Hongkong on the 20th, I arrived at Singapore on the 

 26th, located a supply of infested fruit in some Chinese vegetable 

 gardens, and set up my laboratory in a room over the hotel 

 garage. Here I worked over a month, rearing melon flies out of 

 cucumbers and a few momordicas and luffas. At the end of a 

 week on opening some of the puparia, I found a single female 

 Opius, and shortly after two males, and felt encouraged to go on. 

 However, although more than 6,000 flies were reared, no fur- 

 ther parasites were obtained, and I decided to continue on my 

 way to India. I attribute the meagre results obtained in Singa- 

 pore to the character of the fruit used, and the manner of its 

 cultivation. The only cultivated cucurbit to be obtained in any 

 quantity is the cucumber, which is produced by Chinese market 

 gardeners under conditions which are very favorable to mold — 

 the ground where these- gardens are is low, and it is the custom 

 of the Chinese to wet down the beds three or four times a day 

 with liquid manures. I think if wild momordicas could have 

 been obtained, the parasites would have been more abundant, but 

 under the conditions described, the parasites have little chance to 

 multiply. 



At Singapore I had the misfortune to lose part of my equip- 

 ment and I utilized the time necessary to have it replaced in in- 

 vestigating melon fly conditions in Java. It is only a 36-hour 

 run from Singapore to Batavia, and another 3-hour journey on 

 the railroad to Buitenzorg, the seat of government and location 

 of the scientific laboratories. The director of the scientific work, 

 Dr. Konigsberger, show^ed sympathetic interest in my mission, 

 and kindly offered me a desk in the Strangers' Laboratory. I 

 spent nearly a month in Java, October 10 to November 6, and in 

 this time reared between 4,000 and 5,000 flies. In due course 

 the material disclosed the parasite found at Singapore, and I was 

 able to take a small lot of males and females away with me. 

 My time in Java was limited, and the work done there was done 

 too hurriedly to give anything more than an impression of the 

 conditions, but the impression was very favorable. Cultivated 

 fruit was scarce at that season of the year, and momordicas were 

 used very largely in rearing flies. These fruits are not cultivated 

 in fields or gardens, but are grown by the natives around their 

 houses, and are, therefore, very much scattered. The cultivated 

 fields appeared clean, and I was told that two pickings are usually 

 secured before an infestation is noticed. A large ground beetle 

 was very active here. 



On returning to Singapore, I found a letter from Muir giving 

 encouraging information in regard to the Philippines, but I had 

 already made my plans to go to India, and was obliged to defer 

 the investigation of this new field till later. 



