494 



Jourwil of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 Aug., 1917. 



COMMONWEALTH ADVISORY COUNCIL OF SCIENCE 



AND INDrSTKY. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



FIRST PROGRESS REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON 

 THE DAMAGE BY INSECTS TO GRAIN IN STORE. 



Prefatory Note. 



As the result of certain proposals made early in the year 1916 by 

 the Board of Agriculture, London, the Council of the Royal Society of 

 England appointed a Committee to inquire into the damage done by 

 insects to grain in store. It was thougiit that such an inquiry would be 

 more fruitful if the insect pests were simultaneously investigated in the 

 countries growing and shipping the grain. The Royal Society, therefore, 

 decided to invite the co-operation of scientific institutions in Canada 

 and Australia, and to ask for the assistance of the India Office. 



After obtaining certain preliminary information on the matter from 

 the State Government Entomologists of Australia, the Executive Com- 

 mittee of the Commonwealth Advisory Council of Science and Industry, 

 with the approval of the Commonwealth Government, appointed on the 

 14th December, 1916, the following Special Committee to inquire into 

 and report on the above question : — 



Members of Special Committee. 



Leo Rossell, Esq., The Great Western Milling Co. Ltd., Sydney, 

 ITew South Wales, representing the Wheat Trade (chairman). 



W. W. Froggatt, Esq., Government Entomologist, Sydney, New 

 South Wales. 



Professor W. A. Haswell, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S., Professor of Zoology 

 in the University of Sydney, New South Wales. 



The terms of reference to the Committee were as follows : — "To con- 

 sider the relative economic importance of the species and varieties of 

 insects infesting grain, to suggest measures to combat them, and to 

 inquire into the extent of the actual loss from these pests or into other 

 aspects of this question in Australia." 



Committee on Damage to Stored Grain by Insects. 



Progress Report. 



In connexion with our inquiry into the subject of the destniction of 

 stored grain by insects, we beg to present the following report : — 



We have given careful attention to the reports on the subject received 

 from the Government Entomologists of New South Wales, Victoria, 

 Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. 



A paper by F. J. Cole, published in the Journal of Economic 

 Zoology, giving the results of experiments on the effects of moisture and 

 carbon dioxide, in various proportions, on the active multiplication of 

 the grain weevil, has been very useful as pointing to certain practical 

 conclusions. 



Much useful information has also been obtained from perusal of the 

 copy of extracts from Mr. Noel Pa ton's report to the Indian Govern- 

 ment on Indian Wheat and Grain Elevators, which your Acting Secre- 

 tary was good enough to forward to us. 



