533 



the insects to get at the dough ; they eat it, die, and are eaten by 

 their fellows, who also are poisoned and die. 



In Jamaica the following paint is recommended : 



White Lime (slaked) ... ... 6 quarts 



Kerosene ... ... ... ... i pint 



Turpentine 1 wine glass 



Soft Soap 5 Ibs. 



Cow-dung 3 quarts 



Water 16 quarts 



Mix thoroughly and apply freely with a paint or whitewash 

 brush to trunks of trees or stems of plants requiring protection. 

 The mixture adheres to the trunks and branches of the trees for a 

 long time, but when it peels off the bark beneath is clean and free 

 from pests. 



In South Australia it is noticed that white ants are trouble- 

 some in sandy and limestone soils, occasionally destroying vines 

 and showing particular liking for the Sultana vine. Mr. F. A. 

 Marlatt also records them as doing damage to potatoes growing in 

 rich soil or where there is a considerable quantity of decaying 

 vegetable matter. 



APHIS PLANT AND BARK LICE 



are among the most numerous, both as regards species and 

 individuals, of all known insects, and the destruction caused by 

 them is commensurate with their numbers. There is scarcely a 

 plant that is not attacked by them, and some plants like the grape, 

 peach, apple, cherry, orange, and cabbage, etc., have aphis peculiar 

 to them. 



They are all small, soft-bodied insects, with a body more or less 

 pear-shaped, the winged forms having two pairs of delicate trans- 

 parent wings. The majority of plant lice are aerial in their habits, 

 but some varieties also assume a subterranean form, and these are 

 among the most destructive and widespread, the phylloxera and 

 woolly aphis being the best known. 



Their methods of reproduction are most unique and peculiar 

 to themselves, and the different forms they assume some winged 

 and others wingless, some laying eggs, others bringing forth young 

 alive and often without the intervention of the male, which in some 

 forms has never been recognised, and make them at once interesting 

 and puzzling to the naturalist and entomologist. 



In many varieties a sweet substance is produced, called honey- 

 dew, which is exuded through two tubes situated on the back near 

 the posterior part of the insect, which can readily be seen with the 

 naked eye. This is the substance, when produced in large quantities, 



