108 On the Coffee-horer 



withered, the tree itself was thereby not destroyed. 

 The larva was red and larger than the one described, and 

 no one troubled himself much about it. 



The coffee-pest will — as the dark cloud of locusts — 

 certainly pass over ; the Borer does not of necessity be- 

 long to the coffee-tree ; where there is hope there must 

 be activity. Without doctoring and wasting money on 

 doubtful remedies, I would destroy every affected tree 

 on the plantation ; for if once attacked, it is hopelessly 

 gone. Though half an estate may be lost, where the 

 means are available and the soil is good let it be planted 

 over again, and, where the Borer has not yet shown itself, 

 plant a new tree between every four, that it may replace 

 any of the old ones should they be attacked, as the Borer 

 prefers old stems. And since it seems to be an esta- 

 blished fact that coffee-trees under judicious shading are 

 free from Borer, let every planter in Coorg introduce 

 shade-trees for his young coffee ; at least give it a fair 

 trial.'' 



{Remarks hy the Committee of the Agri- Horticultural Society 

 of Madras.) 



" For some years, an insect called the Borer has been 

 known in Ceylon and other coffee-producing districts, 

 but it is quite different from the one now in Coorg, being 

 the caterpillar of a moth called Zeuzera, whereas the 

 Coorg Borer, according to Mr. Richter, is the larva of a 

 beetle. Another caterpillar, the Black Grub, has also 

 done considerable mischief on coffee estates by ringing 

 the stems just above ground ; but it has never been so 

 general, or appeared in such numbers, as the present 

 enemy. It chiefly confines its attacks to young trees, 

 and is the larva oi Agrotis segetum. The curious in these 

 matters will find abundant information on the subject in 

 a pamphlet, ' Enemies of the Coffee Tree,' by J. Nietner, 

 Esq., published in Ceylon in 1861. The Coorg Borer 

 hardly appears to have been observed there until the 

 present season, but now it has appeared so suddenly, 

 simultaneously and in such numbers throughout a large 

 province, and under such varying conditions as to soil, 

 elevation, culture, &c., that there cannot be a doubt that 

 it has been called into existence by the operation of 

 some general cause. Both Mr. Minchin and Mr. Richter 

 seem to think that this cause has been the long-continued 



