SECTION III.— HISTORY OF I'lIE BLKJUT IN THINTDAI) ,'i!> 



At Esperanza eight fields were badly damaged and 24 slightly 

 injured (Urich, Bull. Dept. Agr. XII p. 203.) 



The first brood seems to have been at the end of July and beginning 

 of August, but there are no records that would locate the later broods. 



Urich (Bull. Dept. Agr. XIII p. 102) says that the year was "not so 

 bad as 1912 and this was in a large measure due to the latter part of 

 1912 having been comparatively more damp than the corresponding 

 period of 1911." 



1914. 



There was little damage this year and the crop was again better. 



According to Urich (Report for -July) the first brood had issued and 

 by mid-July most had laid eggs. 



The results of light trap captures at La Portunee show large cap- 

 tures throughout July and the beginning of August. At Waterloo in 

 .July they were "'already strongly in evidence." 



The latter broods were much smaller than in former years but "some 

 damage and mild blight" was reported at Waterloo in September. 



Otherwise very high crops and high returns per acre were reported 

 throughout the Island. 



1915. 



In this year there seems to have been no damage except in the 

 Couva district and the crop is again better than the previous year. 



The first brood was early and by July they had "already appeared 

 and part of one field showed Ijlight" at Waterloo. By the end of August 

 and September on this estate the second brood was in enormous num- 

 bers and several fields were badlj' damaged. The third brood does not 

 appear to have been severe. Woodford Lodge records damage in one or 

 two spots. 



1916. 



There were a few isolated patches of blight this year, but the crop 

 grown was a record one for the island and produced 70.891 tons of 

 sugar. 



The pest was late in making its appearance, "nymphs in large 

 numbers" were recorded in July at Waterloo, and the first brood 

 appears to have emerged at the end of July and caused no damage. 



At the end of September a number of fields commenced to show 

 signs of blight at Waterloo and in October it was wide spread. 



No other records of damage have been obtained and the third brood 

 appears to have been of little consequence. 



1917. 



After a period of four years, during which conditions had been 

 gradually improving, the year 1917 witnessed the return to an attack of 

 extreme severity, surpassed perhaps only by that in 1912. 



The areas damaged on the various estates are shown in Tabic II 

 together with the estimated loss of canes. 



The loss, which applies to the estates alone and not to small 

 farmers, is equivalent to about 7,000 tons of sugar and at the price then 

 prevalent the financial loss was much greater than in any previous year. 

 The loss on farmer's canes would be at least half this figure, giving a 

 total loss of about 11,000 tons of sugar. There was a drop in the total 

 sugar crop of about 25,000 tons, but about half of this was due to other 

 unfavourable conditions not dependent on the froghoppers. 



