234 



The Review of Reviews, 



March 20, 1900^ 



Apparatus for Treating Trees With Hydrocyanic-Acid Gas. 

 The men are throwing" the tent over tlie trees and cliarging the interior of the tents with the gas. 



This plan will soon be out ot date. 



sidering thf dangrrs it has passed through from 

 importing pt-sts. that it is very rigorous in its mea- 

 sures to prevent anv fresh ones coming in. and nf) 

 plant is allowed to go into the country without being 

 thoroughly examined and fumigated. Not even a 

 single piece of fruit found in a pas.senger's luggagr 

 by the Commissioner can- pass without siHrcial hor- 

 ticultural inspection. The vessel is thoroughly 

 searched, and the crew is allowed to bring in no- 

 thing in this line without rigid scrutiny. 



Sometimes semi-humorous or pathetic incidents 

 may arise, as when a small rhild is deprived of an 

 orange, or the floral decorations from the casket of 

 some departed citizen, who has died abroad, and 

 who is being brought home for interment, are con- 

 fiscated. 



But the necessities of the case demand severe 

 treatment. A visit to the insectary of the Commis- 

 sion would be interesting. Thousands of little 

 colonies of pest destroyers are being cared for by 

 the Commissioner. It is not always that there is 

 such a keen demand for destroyers, but they must 

 be preserved, so that tbey may be ready for work 

 whenever called for. 



Plans are now being perfected for a larger in 



for hatching at any 

 time needed. 



The Department 

 for Agriculture in 

 NVashingtonhas i)re- 

 pared a statement 

 as to the loss by in- 

 sect pests in the 

 United States each 

 year. The losses 

 eai-h year in all 

 plant products . or 

 the soil exceed the 

 entire exj)enditure 

 of the National Go- 

 vernment. Placing 

 the value ol these 

 products at j(j i ,ooo, 

 ooo a year it is esti- 

 mated that an an 

 nual shrinkage oi 

 lo per cent., and in 

 many cases of 50 

 per cent., takes 

 place from insect i)ests. Even reckoning iq per 

 cent, loss on ^1,000,000, it is enough to warrant 

 the small expenditure necessary to k cep a 



ment like the Californian one going. 



The good results of this easy and natural method 

 of killing an insect pest are evident, when it is esti- 

 mated that it costs America ^^i, 000. 000 a year to 

 spra\ apple trees, in order to keep down the codlin 

 moth. If the little pest which has been introduced 

 from Spain goes on as it is doing, however, the abso- 

 lute:' control of the pest is within measurable dis- 

 tance. 



It may be mentioned that the Californian Com- 

 mission of Horticulture and the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture are rivals in their efforts 

 to establish their respective rights to the initiative 

 of these experiments. 



Xow, why cannot Australia do something of this 

 kind ? Fruit pests are numerous and destructive, 

 and horticulturists are burdened every year with the 

 heavv work of endeavouring to keep them down by 

 spraving, etc. This is one of the ways in which we 

 might A-ery well follow in the footsteps of America. 

 Hundreds of thousands of pounds would be saved 

 sectary, with cold-storage departments, in whi"ch the Australia if only a few thousands were expended in 

 eggs of a given foe may be kept indefmitely, ready protecting the horticulturist against his insect foes. 



