676 



NATURE 



IJULY 29; 1920 



rains, are made ready to receive the seed which in 

 November and December is scattered broadcast, 

 mixed with wheat and lightly covered over alter heavy 

 rain. The green seedUngs appear in a tew weeks, 

 but there is no tangible tlevelopment until the wheat 

 is taken away and ihe decaying stalks have become 

 available as plant-food, and perhaps advantageously 

 helped by a tnin surface-dressing of sawdust. 



A Pinaster plantation soon becomes productive, 

 yielding in the first years substantial bedding for 

 cattle and, mixed with dried gorse bushes, excellent 

 material for the ovens in the village bakehouses. In 

 lour or five years the crop will yield abundantly 

 supporting stakes, 6-8 ft. long, for the climbing 

 beans on which the Madeira peasant so largely 

 depends for his winter food, and, yearly afterwards, 

 sturdy poles in ever-increasing dimensions for the con- 

 struction of the fascinating trellises in the famous 

 vineyards at a lower level. In twelve or fifteen years 

 the trees have attained the stage of firewood, and, 

 with the exception of a few selected' pines left for 

 timber, the ground is once more cleared for planting 

 afresh. The tree-stumps are mostly grubbed up, but 

 those left quickly decay in the ground, and the 

 Pinaster throws up no fresh shoots after cutting. 

 The young Pinaster has a distinct tap-root, but the 

 roots of the mature tree spread in a superficial mat, 

 twining fantastically along the surface among the 

 protruding rocks. In digging the foundations of a 

 lofty tower I met with no roots deeper than 4 ft. 



No attempt has hitherto been made to deal with 

 the abundant store of turpentine and resin with which 

 in this region the Pinaster is endowed ; and up to the 

 present time the plantations have not suffered from 

 the blights and diseases to which the species is sub- 

 ject elsewhere. 



Much Pinaster seed is imported from Portugal, as 

 less costly than collecting locally, but the full-bodied, 

 delicately winged seed from a mature tree is in every 

 way preferable, and to procure it a young, supple- 

 limbed mountaineer will not hesitate over the perilous 

 ascent of the huge trunk, bare of branches 70-80 ft. 

 from the ground. A frail ladder made of ivy-stalk 

 serves his purpose, pegged by segments into the 

 crevices of the rough bark, and on reaching the first 

 horizontal branch the intrepid fellow will pass down 

 a string to a companion and draw up a long pine 

 sapling, and with this, clambering out upon the 

 branch, he will beat down the cone clusters with their 

 prolific crop. Once in three or four years sufficient 

 cones have developed to tempt the climber to this 

 giddy and blood-curdling enterprise, and the seeds are 

 beaten out in a few days when the sunshine has 

 sufficiently opened the cones. The seeds then become 

 the property of the pine steeplejack, the handsome, 

 cinnamon-coloured cones, with the substantial resi- 

 duum of unextracted seeds, remaining with the land- 

 owner. 



Pinaster timber of mature growth is a handsome 

 and useful wood, though more difficult to work than 

 the imported deals from America and Norway. I 

 possess some substantial floors which show no signs 

 of decay after thirty years' service. 



For general purposes Pinaster is far the most ser- 

 viceable conifer yet seen in Madeira, and its quick 

 growth, its prolific yield of cones and seeds, and its 

 hardy nature and easy cultivation have given the 

 species a popular pre-eminence which is well estab- 

 lished. 



Thirty years ago I introduced Pinus insignis and 

 made important plantations. One or two of these 

 trees, now tvventv-seven years old, stand more than 

 100 ft. high, with a sturdy corresponding bulk, con- 

 stituting, with their longer, softer, light green, three-- 

 sheathed needles, a handsomer and more attractive 

 NO. 2648, VOL. 105] 



form than seen in the Pinaster. But though of equally 

 rapid growth, the cultivation requires more care than 

 the Pinaster; neither is the tortuous-tibred wood 

 regarded with favour by the working carjjenter. 

 ■ F. pinaster, F. cananensis, and F. insignis all hold 

 their cones for indefinite periods, but the Himalayan 

 P. longifolia sheds all its produce in September, leav- 

 ing nothing but the embryonic promise of next year's 

 crop, the substantial development of the large cones 

 with their resinous, club-ended bracts occupying only 

 seven months. 



I cannot close this account without a reference to 

 Cupressus macrocarpa and C. goveniana as recent 

 accessions of great promise to the Madeira show of 

 conifers; and some mention is also due to the 

 Douglas fir, Taxodium sempervirens, etc., stately 

 examples of which adorn our mountain-gardens. 



Madeira, June 29. Michael Grabham, 



The Training of Practical Entomologists. 



The increasing demand for fully trained economic 

 entomologists was, I think, evident to all who followed 

 the proceedings of the recent Imperial Entomological 

 Conference held in Burlington House. We are faced 

 with the difficulty of ensuring an adequate supply of 

 keen and experienced young men fitted for service in 

 India, the Soudan, and other of the British dominions 

 wherever the requirements may be greatest. The 

 solution of economic problems in entomology is far 

 more difficult than is commonly supposed, and only 

 men of the broadest biological training, coupled with 

 the gift of imagination, are likely to achieve results 

 of lasting value to the community. Under present 

 conditions they are frequently called Upon to take up 

 responsible positions after inadequate training and 

 with only a modicum of practical experience. In the 

 training of an economic entomologist two obvious 

 pitfalls have to be avoided : one is a too exclusively 

 academic or laboratory experience, while the other is 

 a too specialised training in economic entomology at 

 the expense of the necessary preliminary grounding 

 in general biology. 



The majority of practical entomologists become at- 

 tached to an agricultural department, a smaller number 

 enter a forestry department, and it is evident, there- 

 fore, that they need to acquire some knowledge of 

 the principles and practice of either agriculture or 

 forestry. The time at a student's disposal is an im- 

 portant factor, and the majority of men can usually 

 only devote four years to training prior to turning 

 out and earning their living. Let us take, for example, 

 the course of a student at Cambridge. If he possesses 

 good abilities, he should be able to take Part I. of 

 the Tripos at the end of the second year and obtain his 

 preliminary grounding in biology and chemistry, and I 

 would suggest that the remaining two years should be 

 devoted to entomology plus agriculture. The diploma 

 course in agriculture might well be modified to suit 

 such students, allowing them to devote as much time 

 as possible to entomology, and confining the agricul- 

 tural training, so far as may be feasible, to a know- 

 ledge of the soil and crop cultivation, omitting the 

 greater part of the course dealing with stock and 

 animal nutrition. In so far as entomology is con- 

 cerned, I would advocate the first year (or the stu- 

 dent's third year) being devoted entirely to what may 

 be termed the scientific side of the subject. The 

 second year (or the student's last year) should be 

 given to as full a training as possible in economic 

 entomology with the necessary field work. He should 

 be given every opportunity for observing the common 

 pests in the field and the methods of dealing with 

 them. I strongly advocate every student also being 

 given an independent piece of life-history work to 



