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V. On the "Coffee-borer" of Southern India (Xylotrechus 

 quadripes, Chevrolat) . By J. W. Dunning^ M.A., 

 F.L.S., &c., Sec. Ent. Soc, late Fellow of Trinity 

 College, Cambridge. 



At the meeting of the Society held on the 6th January, 

 1868, I exhibited specimens of the Coffee-tree attacked 

 by the " borer," and of the larva, pupa, and imago of 

 the insect, which were sent to me by the Rev. G. Richter, 

 Principal of the Government Central School, Mercara, 

 in the province of Coorg. The following extracts, rela- 

 ting to what my correspondent terms " the Borer pest in 

 the coffee districts of Southern India," may prove inter- 

 esting ; and I have added a wood-cut of the beetle, with 

 a few words on the genus Xylotrechus and its nearest 

 allies. 



From the Proceedings of the Agri- Horticultural Society of 

 Madras, 1867. 



(Extract from the Season-Beport of Mr. J. W. Minchin, 

 dated Wynaad, May, 1867.) 



" In some of the dry districts many of the estates have 

 suffered from the 'Borer.' The trees were probably 

 attacked during the long drought of last season, and the 

 consequences of its attack are now becoming apparent. 

 It is evident that trees not in full vitality are most liable 

 to the attack of the Borer, for on forest estates in moister 

 localities there is very little seen. The remedy, there- 

 fore, is evidently to support the trees by manure, burying 

 in weeds, and digging up the earth round the roots. 

 This last I think should be done during the dry weather, 

 not to any great depth, say three or four inches. It 

 enables any dew or showers that may fall to penetrate 

 the soil, and the feeding roots can search for fresh sup- 

 port, which, when the ground is baked hard, they are 

 unable to do. I am sure that trees when assisted in this 

 way wiU recover from the injury done by the Borer, and 

 that it cannot be advisable to dig out the trees, although 

 they should be relieved of dead wood and crop." 



TRANS. ENT. SOC. 1868. PART I. (aPRIL) . 



