^fertilisers, 337 



Grubs. When the tree is young it is attacked by a large grub which 

 eats away the bark near the root, and thus kills the plant. This insect 

 abounds in low ground. To protect the plant from its ravages it is rec- 

 ommended to apply turpentine to the stem. 



Rats. When the trees are young they are attacked also, at certain 

 seasons, by rats, which devour the primary branches of the young plants. 



Coffee-bug. This insect, of which there are two varieties, the one 

 white, the other black, is the most destructive of all the enemies of the 

 coffee-tree. The white variety appears immediately after the flowering 

 of the plant, during the heats of February, March, and April. It at- 

 taches itself to the branch, beside the fruit, and spreads around it a 

 white glutinous substance which rots the stalk of the fruit and causes 

 it to drop from the tree. The black bug attacks the leaves, fruit, and 

 branches of the tree, and is covered with a sort of small thin shell, like 

 a limpet in shape. This insect covers the leaves with a species of 

 black filmy substance, and has the effect of diminishing very consider- 

 ably the productiveness of the tree. The black bug attacks rather the 

 plantations situated in the high lands than those which are in low 

 ground. The time during which this insect infests the trees varies, 

 but it generally remains for three years. 



The most efficacious remedy for this plague is to manure the ground 

 well, in order that the trees may be able to resist its ravages. Turpen- 

 tine is also used, although not with as good results. The turpentine is 

 sprinkled on the ground around the trunk of the tree, and the soil is 

 then turned up, so that the turpentine may penetrate to the roots. 



Ants. In low and dry localities, ants make their nests in the 

 coffee-tree and greatly annoy the laborers, as their sting is very painful. 

 The red ants are the worst. 



In Soconusco and in Guatemala there is an ant, called with us 

 zompopo, which loosens the soil greatly, and which is considered 

 extremely injurious to the plantation in which it establishes itself. To 

 exterminate these ants it is necessary to dig down until their nests are 

 reached and then pour boiling water over them. 



Fortunately, thus far none of the other plagues of Ceylon are known 

 in Soconusco. 



7. FERTILIZERS. 



As fertilizers are hardly ever used in Soconusco, I shall have to make 

 use of the terms and the rules employed in Ceylon, and used by Mr. 

 Sabonadiere in his Coffee Planter, when treating of them. 



The following points, then, regarding fertilizers, will now be con- 

 sidered: 



A. Necessity for and advantages of fertilizers. 



B. Fertilizers used in Soconusco. 



C. Fertilizers used in Ceylon. 



