296 



Report of the Agricultural Department, Antigua, 1918-19. — Imp.. 

 Dept. Agric. West Indies, Barbados, 1920, pp. 15-18. [Received 

 12th May 1920.] 



Lachnosterna sp. was present in the majority of sugar-cane fields 

 in Antigua during the year under review. It is suggested that whits 

 arsenic at the rate of 14 lb. to 1 cwt. of meatworks manure should be 

 tried against these beetles. Very little damage was caused by Metania- 

 sius (Sphenophorus) sericeus or Diatraea saccharalis. 



Cotton crops were seriously injured by Alaba)na aiyillacea. Other 

 cotton pests included Dysdercus spp., which appeared earUer than usual, 

 Nezara viridula, which also caused serious damage to tomatos, 

 Contarinia gossypii, which increased during November and subsided in 

 December, Heliothis obsoleta {armigera) and Laphygma frugiperda. 



The most common scales on limes were Coccus viridis, Lepidosaphes 

 beckii, Chrysomphalus aurantii and Chionaspis citri. Euscepes {Cryp- 

 torrhynchus) batatae was abundant on sweet potatoes. 



As a result of the work carried out in view of the Cotton Stainer 

 Ordinance of 1919, by which the Government was empowered to 

 destroy any trees or plants which acted as hosts for this pest, about 

 one-twentieth of the total area of the Island may now be considered 

 clear. This involved the destruction of 13,237 trees. 



Jhaveri (T. N.). Swarming Caterpillars of Northern Gujarat. — Agric. 

 Jl. India, Calcutta, xv, Part 2, March 1920, pp. 181-184. 



Great damage was caused to early-sown crops of maize, Pennisetum 

 typhoideum, Paspalum scrobiculatum, chiUies and rice seedlings during 

 1919 by the appearance of Prodenia litura and Cirphis loreyi. The 

 exceptional abundance of these caterpillars was probably due to the 

 absence of rain for a very long period. 



Pupation occurs in the higher land at a depth of from 2 to 3 inches. 

 Under normal circumstances it lasts from 1 to 6 weeks, but may be 

 longer under very dry conditions. Each female lays about 500 eggs 

 which hatch in about four days. The numbers of the second brood, 

 which should have appeared early in August, were greatly reduced by 

 the presence of a Tachinid parasite and on account of the heavy rain. 

 To prevent infestation the land should be ploughed up before the rains 

 come or as soon as the previous crop is harvested, so as to destroy the 

 pupae by exposure to the sun and birds. The moths may be destroyed 

 by light-traps. Other measures include late sowing of crops and hand 

 collection of leaves on which eggs have been deposited. 



Knowles (C. H.). Inspection of Plantations. — Fiji Dept. Agric, 

 Ann. Rept.for 1918, Sura. Council Paper no. 32, 14th May 1919, 

 pp. 11-12. [Received 14th May 1920.] 



In view of the losses occasioned by the banana borer [Cosmopolites 

 sordidus] an important addition has been made to the regulations under 

 the Diseases of Plants Ordinance of 1913, whereby cultivators of plants 

 attacked by, or liable to be attacked by, a declared disease must main- 

 tain a proper condition of cultivation. In consequence, owners of old, 



