PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOr-OCxICAL MEETING 



623 



It has been seen invariably that tlie crop on a broadcasted area is less 

 liable to damage than that on a ploughed area. This is on account of 

 the fact that in the former, the surface of the land being smooth (with 

 cracks here and there) does not give as good facilities for locomotion 

 and hiding to the caterpillar, as the ploughed land with its surface com- 

 posed of blocks of soil of all sizes. Broadcasted areas are by no means 

 immune from attack, as many instances are known of their being damaged 

 as badly as other areas. But its greatest drawback is that the outturn 

 from broadcasted areas is very poor and a cultivator takes to it only 

 when there is no other way of taking a crop on the area. The method 

 cannot therefore be generally adopted. 



(c) Nothing can be done to prevent Agrotis attack by way of changing 

 the crop, as those grown in the chaur (peas, gram, wheat, masur, khesari, 

 mustard, etc.) are all acceptable to the caterpillar, although «at has a 

 decided preference for the first three. 



(11) Chemical Method. Considering the enormous extent of the area, 

 chemical methods are out of the question. Poison baiting was tried at 

 Mokameh in 1910 but it proved useless under the conditions prevailing 

 in the area. 



{Ill) Mechanical. As a result of the last eight years work in Bihar 

 against this pest it has been seen that it can be most satisfactorily con- 

 trolled by the use of Andres Maire traps against the parent moths 

 supplemented by handpicking the first brood caterpillais on higher land. 

 The result of the work smce 1911 is given below. 



{IV) Destruction of Weed Food-'playils. It has been noticed at 

 Ghogha that in the absence of any crop on the chaur early in the season, 

 VOL. II o 



