480 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



There has not as yet been sufficient time to 

 investigate the cause of the improved condi- 

 tions, but it is most likely that some natural 

 enemy which has hitherto escaped notice has 

 increased to such an extent as to become an 

 effectual check to the pest. There may, of 

 course, be other reasons, but whatever these 

 are it must be borne in mind that as the disease 

 has existed and spread during a great number 

 of years without any, or very little, hindrance, 

 the change must be due to something hitherto 

 unknown which has appeared on the scene and 

 made its presence felt. It cannot be the effect 

 of abnormal weather conditions, as these have 

 been much as usual during the last twelve 

 months, nor can it be due to any hurricane, as 

 such has occurred before without showing 

 any specially beneficial effect on the palms left 

 standing. 



Mr. F. P. Jepson, in his report on Economic 

 Entomology (Fiji), writes as follows on a 

 " cabbage " eating moth (Trackycentra, sp.) : 



" On two plantations at Taviuni it was 

 noticed that there were small clumps of trees 

 which had lost their heads, and only the bare 

 trunks remained. Some of the planters 

 attributed this to the effects of lightning. 

 Upon examination of the fallen heads, large 

 numbers of larvae and pupal cases were found, 

 as many as 100 being taken from a single 

 ' cabbage.' The tracks of these larvae were 

 discernible down to the hard part of the trunk^ 



