452 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



' " The Plant Pathologist, Dr. Friederichs, has 

 reported to the Imperial Governor as follows : 



" * I have the honour to state to Your 

 Excellency that, at the Vaitele Plantation, 

 according to the opinion of the manager, Herr 

 Eberhardt, complete success has been attained 

 by the use of the Nasicornus beetle fungus. 

 I must leave it undecided whether it will be 

 a permanent success or not, but the present 

 condition of the experiments appears, as a 

 matter of fact, to be highly satisfactory. 



" ' Herr Eberhardt has, with exemplary 

 energy and care, carried out, in a very brief 

 space of time, the measures proposed to 

 combat the beetle by means of the fungus, 



" ' In February last he received from the 

 pathological laboratory i cwt. of fungus- 

 infected earth, and at once formed a trap heap 

 (" tumu ") near the seashore of the plantation ; 

 then, after more of the material was infected, 

 he set up two others on April 3, and five more 

 on April 30. 



"'Out of about 150 trap heaps, which had 

 been previously placed in the same part of the 

 plantation (these had been placed at distances 

 from one another of perhaps 330 ft.), forty 

 were thus, from time to time, caused to be 

 infected, just in those parts of the plantation 

 where the activity of the beetle had specially 

 made its presence known. 



" ' As early as July last there were found in 

 the same part of the plantation (in non-infected 



