22 



<( Cockroach Plant," which is sweetened and sprayed on the infested trees. 

 The fruit-flies are attracted to it and die very quickly from its poisonous 

 effects. The formula is 2 Ib. of chopped-up plant boiled in 3 gallons of 

 water, strained, and mixed with 3 Ib. of sugar. The only parasite that has 

 been noticed is a small Braconid wasp (Cratosipila rudibunda), but though 

 at times as many as 10 to 15 per cent, of the maggots are parasitized, it 

 does not seem to be much of a check on the maggots in the orange, but more 

 common in the smaller fruits. 



Accompanied by Professor Koebele, Dr. Giandra, and an interpreter, I 

 went down to the town of Yutapec, and spent several days among the 

 orchards, going round with the inspectors, and seeing the examination, packing, 

 and transportation of the sound oranges and the destruction of the damaged 

 ones in the orchards. The district is semi-tropical, with rich black soil and 

 plenty of surface water for irrigation by gravitation. There is no system in 

 planting, and the trees are all shapes and sizes, and all are seedlings. 

 Nothing is known about budding, grafting, or even pruning, yet they grow 

 some very fine oranges. Most of the orchards are small, ranging from 50 to 

 500 trees, and few of the owners have any very exact idea of the number of 

 acres in their holdings. Labour is very cheap, and the Chief Inspector's 

 salary is only 75 cents per day (Is. 6d.), and the assistants 50 cents (Is.), for 

 twelve hours' work. The oranges are examined by the inspectors as they are 

 being placed in the large open crates that hold 318 oranges. These oranges 

 are sold in the orchard at 25 cents per hundred. 



There are several other districts where fruit fly is known to exist, but as 

 there is no export from them the departmental officers are not dealing with 

 their orchards, their object being more to keep the United States open to their 

 fruit than from any hope of clearing out the fruit-flies. 



With Professor Koebele's knowledge of the district around Mexico City, 

 I saw many of the small and much-neglected local orchards. The markets 

 were also visited several times and many different fruits examined. About 

 six different varieties of bananas were on the stalls, a thick red-coloured one 

 being the best* flavoured ; many different kinds of tomatoes ; chillies, and a 

 coarse-looking Cape gooseberry was abundant ; three kinds of prickly-pear 

 fruits ; and the leaves of another opuntia, from which the spines were cut 

 with a sharp knife and sold for food ; the apples and oranges were of very 

 poor quality. A great quantity of different kinds of squashes were there, 

 but no watermelons ; one kind of pumpkin is perforated with small holes and 

 boiled in sugar. Many stalls dealt in sugar-cane for eating ; the cane is 

 brought into the market on muleback and the market-women chop it up into 

 short lengths. This cane is only grown for eating and is called the Cana de 

 Castilla, the crushing cane for sugar as known being Purple Cane (Cana 

 morada). 



The vegetables were very plentiful ; a great variety of yams, and also, Irish 

 potatoes, in contradistinction to sweet potatoes ; these are seldom grown to 

 maturity, and are sold in. little wooden platters containing about half a dozen 

 in each platter. 



Probably the most curious of the many curious foods on sale in this market 

 were the bags of water-bug eggs, about the size of dust shot. They are 

 obtained in the canals round the city by sinking sheets of matting under 

 water, upon which the eggs are laid in millions. The matting is then shaken 

 over a sheet and all the eggs gathered. These are dried and placed in sacks 

 and sold at so much a pound ; they are known as " ahuahutl," and are made 

 into cakes and eaten. 



