NoTfig. 485 



actually carried out the iustructions. It is iulerestino- to note that the 

 following ingredients were purchased by the Pro^'ince of Saskatchewan 

 at a cost of over |30U,U00 : 2720 tons^f bran, 225 tons of sawdust, 

 12,636 gallons of molasses, 2805 cases of lemons, 166 tons of white 

 arsenic, and 34 tons of paris green. As a result of the work in 

 Saskatchewan the provincial ofticials have estimated that no less than 

 1,400,000 acres of crop have been actually saved by tlie applications 

 of poisoned bait. . . . 



" Mr. Gibson also outlined briefly some work which the federal 

 department had conducted in Saskatchewan in connection with testing 

 out new remedies for grasshoppers, which consisted chiefly of the 

 application of dusts to infested areas, tlie spraying of contact insec- 

 ticides, the application of poisoned gases and the testing of new 

 poisoned baits. . . . Speaking particularly of . . . work with poison 

 gases, reference was made to experiments conducted with chlorine 

 gas, which certainly indicated that the insects could be destroyed by 

 such a method, but on the whole this was too expensive for practical 

 use," 



Cotton Pink Bollworm in the West Indies. 



The greatly dreaded pink bollworm, the Department is informed, 

 has now reached the islands of Montserrat and St. Kitts, in the West 

 Indies. The infestations were discovered in November last. How 

 they originated will probably never be known with certainty ; but it 

 is said that a steamer with 50 tons of Brazilian cotton seed in its hold 

 discharged cargo at both islands in June last, and sundry circum- 

 stances lead the authorities to think, Brazil being an infested country, 

 that moths must have escaped through the open hatches and succeeded 

 in reaching growing cotton, thus establishing the pest. Extermina- 

 tion of the insect is already considered out of the question. 



The Union Division of Entomology has some fear that the insect 

 ma\ reach South Africa in a similar manner. No cotton grows near 

 the wharf area at any of the })orts, but weeds of the cotton family are 

 common, particularly at Durban, and it is suspected that the insect 

 might be able to subsist on them. Fortunately cotton seed is a highly 

 unusual cargo for vessels to carry along the South African coast. 

 Yet a few months ago some cotton seed arrived at Lourenco Marques 

 from Angola, on the west coast, and was found actually infested with 

 the pest. The Union plant import regulations prohibit the introduc- 

 tion of any cotton seed without a permit, and it is a strict rule that 

 permits are only given to secure the admission of small quantities of 

 specially selected seed for exjierimental sowings. 



The countries suffering most from the jiink bollworm are Egypt 

 and Brazil. Most cotton growing countries are now under suspicion 

 of the pest having become established in them. The United States 

 of America have been putting up a most strenuous and expensive 

 fight to keep it out, but in the last season outbreaks were discovered 

 in Louisiana and at several places in Texas. Mexico has been con- 

 siderably infested for years. Almost needless to say, the cotton 

 growing countries that keep free of this terrible pest have a decided 

 advantage over the infested ones. The surreptitious introduction of 

 a few ounces of cotton seed might easily destroy for ever the freedom 

 from the insect now enjoyed hy South Africa, and we would again 

 emphasize the need for extreme vigilance in keeping out this 

 devastating pest. 



