THE EXTERMINATION OP PESTS 113 



trunk, in order to prevent the beetles from making 

 fresh holes. 



Messrs. Smith and Pape suggest another very 

 effective method of dealing with this pest: ;< A 

 very good remedy also is the setting out on poles of 

 ' buglights ' ; these are made of lighted charcoal 

 placed in baskets, made of hoop-iron, which are 

 then stuck on poles about the plantation at night 

 time, when the beetles are most prone to swarm. 

 Large numbers of them will be attracted to the 

 light, when they can be beaten down by men and 

 boys with brushes, and so caught and killed." 



Other remedies include spraying the crown and 

 the tree with a mixture of Paris green and flour, 

 thinned out with 10 or 12 gallons of water for each 

 tree. 



The Asiatic palm, or red beetle (Rhynchophorus 

 ferrugineus), also causes considerable damage 

 wherever it appears. A Philippine expert, Senor 

 Vicente Keyes, points out that it has been observed 

 that coconut palms, whose green leaves, blossoms 

 and fruits appear in perfect condition, fall to the 

 ground without apparent reason, as though struck 

 by a hurricane. The palms from the roots to 

 about 7 ft. high are completely undermined, the 

 interior pulverised like sawdust, and filled with 

 nests of these insects, which have penetrated the 

 roots and gnawed their way upwards, deriving 

 sustenance from the trunk. The red beetle is 



I 



