834 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 



Mr. Harihar 



Prasad. 



Mr. Ramakrishns 



Ayyar. 



This is, I think, contradictory to his above-quoted statements when 

 he speaks of mild infection. 



With regard to infection through wounds Mr. De himself says that 

 he carried out two experiments to see if infection takes place through 

 wounds. He took 100 caterpillars in each of the two experiments. 

 j.n one 70 caterpillars died of wounds and he got 6 mild cases of pebrine. 

 His control lot also showed 2 cases of pebrine. In the second experi- 

 ment he got negative results and 89 caterpillars died. I think both his 

 experiments gave negative results as his control lot in the first experi- 

 ment showed pebrine and it is just possible that there was disease already 

 present in his experimental lots. Mr. De v/rote to three or four people in 

 foreign countries for opinions on this point. Two people seem to have 

 given as their opinion that infection does not take place and one man 

 says that rarely it does. Upon this doubtful point Mr. De tries to make 

 a case that, in case infection takes place through wounds, the ovary 

 alone of the moth may be infected and not the gut. This to my mind 

 seems to be imaginary for in nature we do not come across any "strcir' 

 wounded caterpillars and the caterpillars are so delicate that when 

 they get wounded they die before becoming moths. I do not think 

 Mr. De has ever come across any such moth. 



Mr. De says that " the pebrine disease is not a hereditary disease 

 but is only transmitted from a mother to its progeny." I would like to 

 have explained the meaning of this funny sentence. 



In conclusion, he admits of mild cases in which the gut is the only 

 affected part and no other tissues. 



In my opinion, no case has been made out to criticize Mr. Hutchinson's 

 method, which is based upon scientific work and not upon information 

 gathered from private letters and books. 



I thank you, gentlemen, for giving me an opportunity of explaining 

 things and I also thank Mr. De for his efforts in the cause of science. 



I had occasion to visit the Berhampore silk nursery in 1909 and at 

 that time they were throwing off the wings and thorax of the moths 

 and only crushing the abdomen. 



Mr. De recommended the same method in his first Bulletin. 



It would have been much better if we could have some definite deci- 

 sion regarding the best method to adopt for elimination of pebrine. 

 The man under me does not know which method to follow. One is 

 tedious and the other is inaccurate. As far as I can make out, the 

 methods are the same and do not show any difference in results. The 

 c[uestion is, which is the one that can be carried on, on a commercial scale. 

 If Mr. Hutchinson's method is to be followed, then the seed should be 

 distributed by Government agency. 



