118 THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS OF INDIA. 



Xylotrechus. See Coffee-borer. 



Xylotrupes gideon attacks the cocoa - nut trees in 

 Malacca. 



Zea mays, Linn., in the North- Western Provinces is 

 singularly free from disease of any kind, and the only insect 

 from which it suffers is a small caterpillar, called ' salai ' 

 or ' silai,' which burrows in the stalk and leaf-sheaths. 

 On the other hand, it is more liable than any other crop 

 to the depredations of parrots, squirrels, wild hog, jackals, 

 porcupines, and thieves; and at least for a fortnight 

 before harvest - time some member of the cultivator's 

 family has to watch the crop from a tall platform 

 in the centre of the field, armed with a sling or catapult 

 or thong, and shouting to scare the marauders. Maize is 

 a very exhausting crop. D. & F. Vern. Muka juari. 



Zeuzeridae, a family of moths. Their caterpillars feed 

 in the wood of the inside of the trunks of trees. See 

 Coffee. 



