VI PREFACE. 



the insect world as presented by " Eha," but perhaps the 

 necessary precision of thought and language in this volume 

 may blend with his delightful pictures and help to give a 

 true impression of our insect friends and foes. 



Much of the local information in this volume has been 

 obtained from the many reports sent in at the instance of the 

 Directors of Agriculture. In a country where nothing is 

 outside the scope of official enquiry, much may be learnt 

 from enquiries pursued by the Mamlatdar or Tahsildar, and 

 especially in regard to the attitude of the cultivator towards 

 his pests. My acknowledgments are due to the many dis- 

 trict officials who have sent in reports of injurious insects 

 and carefully collected information as to the remedies in use 

 among the ryots. 



I am under a deep obligation to Mr. E. G. Sly, Officiating 

 Inspector General of Agriculture, to whom the inception 

 of the book is due, and who has endeavoured to bring the 

 arrangement and text into the form most suitable for those 

 for whom it is intended ; without this encouragement and 

 advice, the volume could not have been produced in its 

 present form. I have also to thank Mr. C. A. Barber, Gov- 

 ernment Botanist, Madras, and Dr. H. H. Mann, Scientific 

 Officer to the Indian Tea Association, for valuable help and 

 suggestions in the final preparation of the text. The illustra- 

 tions are largely the work of the late artist in the Indian 

 Museum, Babu G. C. Ohukraburtty, and these have in many 

 cases been published in another form in the pages of Indian 

 Museum Notes. Others have been prepared under my super- 

 vision by H. H. Deboo, Chotalal Daulatram Shah and 

 Eambhau Balajee, artists attached to the Department 

 of Agriculture. The diagrams and photos are my own, 

 and Mr. R. C. Wood very kindly prepared the design on 

 the cover. 



I am indebted to the work of my staff for many observa- 

 tions ; the Entomological Assistants attached to the Depart- 

 ments of Agriculture in the Punjab, Central Provinces and 



