86 



Tlie plan recommended by Sir Francis Watts and based on the 

 assumption that the weevil breeds in the bulb only and not in the 

 stem of the banana plant, consists in slicing the bulbs into pieces less 

 than I inch thick, drying these in the sun and leaving them on the 

 surface of the field [see this Review, Ser. A, v, p. 435]. Though the 

 weevils are unable to reproduce themselves in these slices, it has been 

 found in practice that they hide underneath them. Consequently 

 they form a most successful form of bait- trap, which in some plots 

 has completely elimijiated the pest. 



As regards other measures in the field, burning is not recommended 

 in anv form, since the banana plant is most difficult to burn, requiring 

 an enormous amount of oil if treated in silu, and taking many weeks 

 to dry sufficiently if previously dug up and sliced, during which time it 

 might act as a breeding- place. The use of carbon bisulphide on the plants 

 chopped up, placed in pits and covered with 12 inches of earth is also 

 misatisfactory and is calculated to spread the pest by causing the 

 adults at large to migrate in search of a fresh food supply. The 

 keeping of fowls is advised on small holdings where the borer is preva- 

 lent, experiment having shown that Mefamasius sericeus (brown 

 \vee\'il) and 0. sordidii^ can both be completely controlled by this 

 means. The view is expressed that good cultivation and clean manage- 

 ment are all that is required to prevent this pest from exerting any 

 injurious effect on commercial bananas. 



Washburn (F. L.). Injurious Insects and Useful Birds. — Philadelphia 

 & London, J. B. Lippincott Co., 1918, 453 pp., 4 coloured plates, 

 414 figs. Price 7s. Qd. net. 



This useful text-book, one of the series of Lippincott's Farm Manuals, 

 represents the results of some twenty-one years of the author's work 

 in economic entomology. It has been compiled to meet the needs 

 of schools and agricultural colleges and does not aim at being highly 

 technical but covers a wide field and is full of practical information 

 and suggestions. It is intended also as a referenee for farmers, fruit 

 and vegetable growers, owners of gardens and householders, and as a 

 guide in the campaign against injurious insects. The various chapters 

 dealj[with losses due to insects and farm practices to reduce these, 

 external structure of insects, insecticides and spraying and fumigation. 

 Insects are dealt with under the heading of the crops they injure. 

 Other chapters are devoted to insects affecting man and the household, 

 stock^and poultry. Beneficial insects are dealt with and the relation of 

 birds to agriculture is discussed at length. The numerous illustrations 

 in the text are clear and helpful, and each chapter is supplied with a 

 set of questions on the subject matter. 



Pantanelli (E.). Esperienze ed Osservazioni sui principali Sistemi 

 di Lotta contro le Cavalette. [Experiments and Observations on 

 the chief Methods of combating Locusts.] — Le Stazioni Speri- 

 mentali Agrarie Italiane, Modena,\\, 1918, pp. 245-305. [Received 

 2nd December 1918.] 

 This report compares the chief methods of destroying locusts which 



the author has tested in the provinces of Rome and Cascrta since 1916. 



Other comparable experiments made in Italy are those of Lunardoni 



