of Southern India. 109 



drought of the past two seasons, and we believe that is 

 the generally prevalent and correct opinion. A dry state 

 of the atmosphere is, under certain conditions, favorable 

 to the multiplication of many forms of insect life, and, in 

 the case of the Scolytus (a borer) , which destroys the 

 elm, it is a well-known fact that while a dry season 

 fosters it, the presence of moisture and the rapid circu- 

 lation of the sap immediately stop its ravages. Accept- 

 ing the drought, therefore, as the chief agent in the 

 production of the Borer, the most natural remedy, as 

 suggested by Mr. Eichter, appears to be cultivation of 

 the coffee under shade; a system regarding which the 

 Committee have for a considerable period been seeking 

 to elicit the opinion of experienced planters. Doctoring 

 by the application of remedies may be of temporary, but 

 cannot prove of any permanent benefit, and will not 

 avert the total ruin which at present threatens a most 

 important branch of industry and source of revenue. It 

 does not seem very clear whether the ova of the beetle 

 that produces the Borer are hatched in the ground or 

 not ; but, if so, a liberal application of lime to the soil 

 might, as in the case of the wire-worm, ensure the 

 destruction of the insect.^^ 



{Extracts from the Cooeg Season- Eep or t, hy the Bev. G. 

 RiCHTEK, dated Mercara, 1 July, 1867.) 



" Much has already been written about the ' Borer ^ in 

 Coorg, but I should hardly do justice to my task did 

 I not revert to the subject in my season-report on the 

 the past quarter. I need, however, not enlarge on the 

 blasted prospects of some planters who were so full of 

 hope at the flowering season of the coffee-tree in March 

 last. The epidemic is an undisputable fact, and elicits 

 the sympathies of every one who has become acquainted 

 with its ravages. These were especially apparent in 

 April and May, but with the commencement of the rains 

 they showed themselves less visible, whether to appear- 

 ance only or really and permanently, the future will dis- 

 close. It is, however, confidently asserted by planters 

 in various districts of Coorg, that the pest is passing 

 away. Whilst sincerely wishing this to be the case, and 

 feeling most inclined to forget the unpleasant subject 

 altogether, still there are a few notable facts which may 



