; MONTHLY NOTES ON GRUBS AND OTHER CANE PESTS. 7 



11. Field and laboratory experiments in the use of poisons for 



the grubs. 



12. Fiekl experiments to determine the relation of fertilisers 



to resistance ; using green manure, stable manure, meat- 

 works, nitrate of soda, &c. 



13. A study of the effect of trash left on the field during the 



period of ovipositing of the beetles. 



14. Also, having the ground covered v^^ith Mauritius beans 

 '■ during this period — planting cane in March. 



15. Another experiment v^^orking the fallow soil during Janu- 



ary and February, and planting in March. 



16. Experiments in late planting — using plots planted in No- 



vember and December, which are to be worked through 

 the period of ovipositing. 



17. Experiments to determine how far the beetles fly. 



18. A study of varieties of cane best suited to grub resistance. 



19. Experiments showing the value of lime on grub-infested 



soil. 



20. Development of a general reference collection in the 



laboratory. 



This list might be considerably extended, but, since several of the 

 topics are so important that we might profitably occupy all of our time 

 with one of them, it would appear best not to make the list too far- 

 reaching. It is hoped, however, that we may soon have the assistance 

 of a number of students, who, while they are carrying out investiga- 

 tions along these various lines, will be gaining in practical experience 

 and power, which will inevitably prove of great worth, both to the 

 State and to themselves. Pests of tropical crops are omnipresent, and 

 the call for trained men to cope with them will ever be insistent. 

 Certainly, the expenditure for the permanent equipment of our new 

 Experimental Station could not be put to better use. 



Some Recent Observations that will Prove op Interest. 



Beetles were found, fully developed, in the soil at Greenhills, 4t'i 

 July. These were in the hardest kind of soil, over 2 feet from the 

 surface, where they must wait for the rains to penetrate to them before 

 they can emerge. It is very probable that a number of these must 

 succumb if the rains are long delayed. 



Along the line of our investigations of the relation of humus to 

 grub infestation, I learned at Deeral that the grubs had been so abun- 

 dant that a child picked up at the rate of about 8 lbs. of grubs in a day, 

 and still the cane showed no injury from them. The river-bottom land 

 of that locality is exceedingly rich in humus, having been recently 

 cleared from the scrub, and is subject to overflows. 



