10 AUSTEALIAX SUGAR-CANE BEETLES AND THEIR ALLIES. 



charge of them, and had to see that they were shut up safely at night- 

 time. It is wonderful the amount of good that these fowls did. as in 

 many cases just by a little scratching they often turned up grubs which 

 had been missed by the boys following the ploughs (boys with tins were 

 behind each plough, harrow, &c.) ; and, again, when the grubs were very 

 .small, there being more chance of them being missed by the boys. As 

 regards the eggs, we have never discovered the eggs in the ground, but 

 have noticed them in beetles which have been killed. Besides fowls w^e 

 have at times a large number of black magpies, though they do not seem 

 to remain all the year round with us. "While here they are, as a rule, 

 very busy behind the ploughs and newly ploughed land, killing and 

 eating the grubs. Ibises come here in large numbers, and they also 

 attack and eat the grubs ; we seldom see them on grass land, but as a rule 

 on newly ploughed land. 



"We now have the greater part of our estate cleared of timber lying 

 on the ground, and partly stumped. There are still a few stumps left in 

 the ground, but these are being gradually burnt away when burning the 

 trash off ; the ploughs in consequence can go over the whole of the ground 

 except a very small portion around the stumps. I am quite sure that 

 it is having been able to get at all the old land, I may say, with the 

 plough, turning it up, having boys and liirds on the lookout for grubs 

 and beetles, that we have been fortunate enough to get rid entirely of 

 the grubs. At the present time (1893) there is not a piece of grub-eaten 

 cane on the place that one can see. Besides looking out for the grubs 

 great attention has been paid to the catching and trapping of the beetle. 

 Casks were placed in and around fields, the cask was partly filled with 

 water, a tallow lamp was made fast to a board nailed on and across the 

 top of the cask, tar or molasses was smeared all over the outside of the 

 cask. Thousands of beetles were caught in this manner, besides those 

 turned up by the plough. ' ' 



In 1895 the grubs continued so destructive that legislative measures 

 were set on foot, in both the IMackay and Herbert River districts, in 

 order that funds might be collected for the suppression of the pest. This 

 matter was outlined by Mr. Paget (17), of IMackay, and later the 

 growers, by a direct tax upon themselves which was finally augmented 

 by a Government subsidy, expended many thousands of pounds in 

 collecting the pest bv hand, as has been indicated above. 



At the Agricultural Conference held in ]\Iackay in June 1899, Wm. 

 Beal (28) said that during the preceding ten or twelve years 30,000 acres 

 of scrub had been felled in the Childers district, with a marked decrease 

 in the pest. He considered that thorough cultivation was an important 

 factor in the control of the pest. 



The Colonial Sugar Refining Company's Annual Report for the 

 season of 1907 (36) states that the Ilambledon district lost fully 20,000 

 tons of cane from grubs during 1906-7, and that this loss had a net 

 valuation of £20,000. Then, in their report for the season of 1908 (38), 

 they estimate the loss due to grubs for their five Northern mills at 40,000 

 tons for the year. £2,800 was spent for the destruction of 31-73 tons 

 of beetles, and IMulgrave spent an additional £1,000. And, again, in the 

 report for 1909 (39), they estimate the loss for the Cairns district at 

 £50,000. £1,500 was spent for collecting 14 tons of beetles and 2 tons 

 of grubs. 



In 1911, G. 11. Britchard, Secretary of the A.S.P.A. (49), while 



