112 THE EXTERMINATION OF PESTS 



though for shallow wounds a dressing of tar usually 

 suffices. 



The great moth borer of the sugar cane is said to 

 attack coconuts in Trinidad, and a very similar 

 pest is found in certain Eastern countries. 



An extremely active enemy of the coconut palm 

 is the rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros), which 

 is very common in the Philippines, Ceylon, Java, 

 India, West Indies, and other regions. The female 

 of this species lays its eggs in the decaying trunks 

 of trees and in any heap of decomposing vegetable 

 matter that may have accumulated. These beetles 

 display a decided preference for the nuts germi- 

 nating in the seed beds, invariably attacking the 

 sweet morsels contained in their heart ; they also 

 bore into young trees or into the heart of the 

 mature ones. Their presence is revealed by the 

 large hole they make in the tree, and by the 

 denuded appearance of the leaves. The utmost 

 vigilance should be shown in tracking down and 

 destroying these beetles before they secure a 

 footing on an estate, otherwise it will need endless 

 time and trouble to suppress them. In many 

 regions the beetles are extracted from the holes 

 they have bored in the trees by means of a length 

 of stiff wire with a barbed end, and the holes filled 

 with a mixture of zotal and dry sand. Fine dry 

 sand should afterwards be applied copiously to the 

 cavities at the junction of the leaves with the 



