10 



"On the whole, entomologically, Cairns was disappointing in 

 July and August, the two months we spent there. Local ento- 

 mologists considered collecting hardly worth while at this sea- 

 son. Birds were interesting and varied and in fine plumage 

 and it was a great pleasure to see such a number of forms new 

 to me. Economically the crow is very important in some cane 

 districts. It is very tame, following the plough and eating the 

 grubs of the injurious chafers as they are turned up. Having 

 gorged to repletion, it will take a rest and then recommence feed- 

 ing. These chafer grubs are. as is well known, destroyed by the 

 larva of a parasitic Fossorial wasp, Diclis. In some places a small 

 Rhipidura was seen catching insects in the cane-fields ; it is ex- 

 tremely like our Hawaiian fly-catcher {Chasicmpis) but ours will 

 never leave the forest for the cane-lands. Another Australian 

 species IS commonly seen catching flies off the backs of cattle. 

 It would be most valuable in these islands. The tropical birds 

 are wantonly slaughtered around Cairns, by boys and men, who 

 are always to be seen on a Sunday, killing anything that comes 

 their way. 



"Most of the time at Cairns was spent in studying leaf-hoppers 

 on graminaceous plants. The cane-hopper was found breeding on 

 cane only, never on grasses. Tryon, the State entomologist, who 

 knows the Queensland insects of economic importance better 

 than any one, says the corn-hopper {P ere gr inns maidis) is a native 

 of Queensland, being found on native grasses. This is very 

 doubtful, as in other countries it will attack native grasses and 

 foreign alike. The fact that it does much damage and that we 

 found no specific natural enemy points otherwise. One man at 

 Cairns told me he lost five crops of corn in succession from this 

 hopper. 



"At the end of August we returned to Townsville. There had 

 been no rain and the place was disgusting. Rockhampton was 

 hot, the temperature over ioo° F., but the gardens were very 

 pretty with such masses of flowers, as we had not seen elsewhere. 



"When we left Cairns, forest fires were general throughout 

 Queensland and the destruction of animal life must have been 

 enormous, in addition to the waste of fine timber. We worked 

 in two very different kinds of forest in Australia — the one chiefly 

 characterized by its many Eucalypti, and the other of a regular 



