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nature's arrangements by introducing foreign Coccidte without 

 their enemies, the best remedy is to search out those enemies, and 

 introduce them too, as in the case of the Vedalia. Even in such 

 a case, however, care is needed, to ascertain very exactly the 

 habits of the enemy we are importing. It was true enough that 

 the mongoose fed on I'ats, but it also feeds on poultry and wild 

 birds. The European sparrow, taken to America, has no doubt 

 some virtues, but if the introducers of that bird had had a proper 

 knowledge of its habits, they would have been horrified at the 

 idea of inflicting so serious an injury on their country as has 

 resulted from their actions. 



Fortunately, however, there are some enemies, including all 

 those really important in connection with Coccidse, which M'e can 

 import with j^erfect impunity, as their habits are well-known, 

 and there is no reasonable possibility of their proving injurious. 

 Such are the lady-birds, and the parasitic Chalcididoi and 

 Myniarid(e. If we had an extensive Cochineal industry at some 

 future time, it is possible that some of these enemies might attack 

 the dye-prodttcing insect so as to interfere with the value and 

 amount of the product, but there seems no likelihood of such an 

 event, and even wei'e it to so happen, the saving to other crops 

 would much more than conntei'balance the loss in this direction. 



The present writer has lately made some studies of the fauna 

 of Jamaica, the results of which when more complete, will appear 

 elsewhere. The general conclusions arrived at are, that we have 

 two distinct faunaa in this Island ; one, very ancient and dating 

 back to the time of connection with the continent ; the other, of 

 more recent origin, consisting of species which have reached us 

 from over the sea. The former contains few species, and these 

 highly peculiar, — often i-epresenting geneva now found nowhere- 

 else. The latter includes species either identical with, or very 

 closely allied to, those found elsewhere. In that grand genus of 

 butterflies known as Papilio, P. homerus and F. thersites belong 

 to the old fauna, and P. polycrates and P. thoas to the recent. 



The majority, at least, of the destructive Coccidse in Jamaica 

 are allied to or identical with species found elsewhere, and con- 

 sequently they must be classed with the recent fauna which has 

 come over sea — in this case no doubt in ships. 



The importance of this appears when we consider that 

 if the parasites of the Coccidse have not been imported with them 

 there will be nothing ready to attack them here. In the United 

 States, if you import a Lecanium or an Aspidiotus, there is 

 almost sure to be a parasite of an allied native scale that will attack 

 it ; but in a case where there are no allied native scales, there 

 will probably be no available native parasites. Such Chalcids, &c. 

 as belong to Qur ancient fauna, probably will not attack intro- 



