Samoa and New Guinea 125 



unnoticed or unheeded from the Custom House 

 at Apia to spread trouble throughout the 

 German island of Upolu, on which Apia is 

 situated, and has been busy spreading trouble 

 ever since. The prevailing belief is that the 

 pest was introduced in boxes containing rubber 

 stumps, packed in soil and vegetable refuse, 

 at a time, unfortunately, when no system of 

 inspection and protection had as yet been 

 introduced, and so 'the beetle ran riot before 

 the authorities realized what a "snake in the 

 grass " had crept unnoticed into their hitherto 

 happy little island. ''It is a significant fact," 

 wrote Mr. Jepson in his report, 1 "that the 

 spread of the beetle from Apia has been, in 

 a large measure, influenced by the north-east 

 trade wind. In the prevailing direction of this 

 trade wind one may find occasional areas 

 which show no indication of having been 

 visited by beetles, and in many instances these 

 areas are sheltered from the wind either by 

 hills or by belts of forests. 2 Of the affected 

 palms 30 per cent, had their yield reduced to 

 a great or small extent by the destruction of 



1 Bulletin No. 3, Department of Agriculture, Fiji, 

 being a report on " The Rhinoceros Beetle in Samoa," 

 by Frank P. Jepson, B. A. Cant., F.E.C., Suva, Fiji. 

 S. J. March, Government Printer. Price is. net 

 (probably including postage). Planters should try and 



-secure a copy of this exhaustive, illustrated report on 

 the pest to which we owe the .illustration opposite. 



2 See " Notes on Soils and Plant Sanitation on Cacao 

 and Rubber Estates" ve the advantages of maintaining 

 forest belts to keep off the wind and restrict pests. 



