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Sanford (F.). An Experiment on Killing Tree Scale by Poisoning the 

 Sap of the Tree. [Correspondence.] — Science, Philadelphia, xl, 

 no. 1032, 9tli October 1914, pp. 519-520. 



The author having unsuccessfully tried various methods of ex- 

 terminating Icerya purchasi from Spanish broom [Sparlium junceum] 

 made the following experiment : A f inch hole bored in the trunk 

 to a depth of about 3 inches, was filled with crystals of potassium 

 cyanide and plugged. In two days the scale began to fall, and in a 

 few days all appeared dead ; the tree has since been vigorous and free 

 from scale. A similar charge of potassium cyanide was placed in a 

 scale-infested peach tree, which revived and produced a fair crop, 

 the fruit being unharmed by the poison ; the fruit from an orange 

 tree treated in the same way also appeared to be uninjured. This 

 method should prove useful in the destruction of borers and insects 

 which burrow beneath the bark. 



A wood-boring moth. — Agric. News, Barbados, xiii, no. 325, 10th 

 October 1914, p. 328. 



The caterpillars of Duomitus punctifer, Hamp., have been found 

 boring into the stems of orange and tangerine trees in Nevis. They 

 tunnel in the hard wood, attacking fairly large stems which remain 

 green for a considerable time after the hard wood is practically 

 destroyed, though the whole stem eventually dies. D. punctifer occurs 

 in Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada. It has also been 

 found attacking camphor, the Nicaragua shade tree {Gliricida macidata), 

 sapodilla (Achras sapot.a), guava, Pithecolobium saman, white wood 

 {Tecoma leucoxylon), soursop {Anona muricata), Ipomoea spp., and 

 ornamental crotons {Codiaeum spp.). The male moth flies actively 

 and is frequently attracted to light. The female does not fly so readily, 

 at least until after oviposition has taken place. The eggs are laid in 

 or on small twigs through which the newly-hatched larvae tunnel ta 

 the larger branches. When the larva is about to pupate, it eats its 

 way towards the surface and leaves a thin diaphragm of bark as a 

 cover to the exit, and pupates at a short distance within the tunnel. 

 The partitions which are built across the tunnels at intervals are a 

 characteristic feature. The tunnels of D. punctifer in the smaller 

 branches of the whitewood are often infested by a mealy-bug which 

 sometimes occurs in large numbers. 



A new cotton pest. — Agric. News, Barbados, xiii, no. 326, 24th October 

 1914, p. 344. 



Cockroaches are reported to be injuring cotton in St. Kitts. On 

 two estates there, much trouble was experienced in establishing cotton 

 plants in certain fields, as they were several times eaten down when 

 planted. The characteristic feature of these attacks is to be found 

 in the fact that only the seed-leaves are eaten. Any plant which 

 gets through the seed-leaf stage and develops its first foliage-leaf, 

 seems to escape further attack. The insect concerned is the AustraUan 

 cockroach, Periplaneta australasiae, which is the common household 

 cockroach in the West Indies. Individuals so far observed in the 

 fields are all, or nearly all. immature. 



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