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  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOURTH 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  

  

  The 
  total 
  area 
  of 
  24, 
  798 
  acres 
  is 
  much 
  less 
  than 
  what 
  it 
  was 
  about 
  

   fifty 
  years 
  ago. 
  The 
  causes, 
  that 
  have 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  continual 
  decrease 
  

   in 
  area 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  steadily 
  going 
  on, 
  are 
  largely 
  economic. 
  Increase 
  

   in 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  cultivation 
  brought 
  about 
  by 
  high 
  cost 
  of 
  manure 
  and 
  

   irrigation, 
  foreign 
  competition, 
  etc., 
  had 
  a 
  harmful 
  effect 
  on 
  the 
  area 
  

   under 
  cane 
  and 
  consequently 
  the 
  two 
  crops 
  of 
  wheat 
  and 
  cotton 
  have 
  

   to 
  a 
  large 
  extent 
  replaced 
  sugarcane, 
  the 
  former 
  being 
  in 
  the 
  opinion 
  

   of 
  the 
  raiyals 
  less 
  expensive 
  to 
  cultivate 
  and 
  yielding 
  a 
  more 
  certain 
  

   return. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  unusual 
  to 
  see 
  in 
  some 
  districts 
  disused 
  wells 
  adjoining 
  

   cotton 
  fields 
  and 
  showing 
  where 
  sugarcane 
  was 
  once 
  growing. 
  

  

  Improvements 
  in 
  this 
  crop 
  are 
  now-a-days 
  effected 
  in 
  many 
  ways, 
  

   such 
  as 
  (1) 
  extension 
  of 
  irrigation 
  facilities, 
  (ii) 
  manuring 
  and 
  better 
  

   methods 
  of 
  cultivation, 
  and 
  (iii) 
  introduction 
  of 
  foreign 
  varieties 
  ; 
  this 
  

   last 
  factor 
  is 
  concerned 
  with 
  the 
  subject 
  matter 
  of 
  this 
  note. 
  

  

  The 
  foreign 
  cane 
  varieties 
  of 
  a 
  better 
  productive 
  character 
  which 
  

   have 
  been 
  introduced, 
  not 
  only 
  demand 
  more 
  care 
  in 
  cultivation, 
  but,, 
  

   being 
  mostly 
  thick 
  and 
  high 
  yielding, 
  are 
  more 
  susceptible 
  to 
  attack 
  

   of 
  diseases, 
  pests 
  and 
  animals 
  than 
  the 
  harder 
  and 
  low 
  yielding 
  local 
  

   thin 
  canes. 
  A 
  study 
  therefore 
  of 
  these 
  enemies 
  is 
  more 
  necessary, 
  

   and 
  it 
  is 
  in 
  respect 
  to 
  the 
  second, 
  i.e., 
  insect 
  pests, 
  that 
  experiments 
  

   have 
  been 
  carried 
  out 
  on 
  several 
  farms 
  to 
  study 
  the 
  relation 
  of 
  the 
  

   introduced 
  varieties 
  of 
  canes 
  to 
  stem-borer 
  attack. 
  

  

  Quite 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  foreign 
  and 
  local 
  varieties 
  were 
  tried 
  to 
  

   find 
  out 
  suitable 
  canes 
  for 
  gur-making, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  become 
  obvious 
  that 
  

   the 
  thin 
  and 
  hard 
  canes 
  are 
  less 
  damaged 
  by 
  borer 
  than 
  the 
  soft 
  canes 
  

   and 
  that 
  early 
  planting 
  gives 
  greater 
  immunity 
  to 
  borer 
  attack 
  than 
  

   late 
  planting. 
  These 
  inferences 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  drawn 
  by 
  the 
  cultiva- 
  

   tors 
  from 
  their 
  accumulated 
  experience 
  of 
  years, 
  but 
  actual 
  experi- 
  

   ments 
  conducted 
  with 
  those 
  objects 
  in 
  view 
  are 
  more 
  instructive 
  and 
  

   base 
  the 
  results 
  on 
  scientific 
  data. 
  

  

  In 
  1913-14 
  at 
  the 
  Tharsa 
  Experimental 
  Station 
  an 
  experiment 
  was 
  

   started 
  to 
  ascertain 
  the 
  immunity 
  of 
  different 
  varieties 
  to 
  stem-borer, 
  

   The 
  observations 
  are 
  tohulated 
  below 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  