Some Insect Pests of the Sugar-Cane. 11 
the cocoa-nut root-borer, the rough root-borer and the gru-gru worm, besides 
any such casual leaf-eater as there may be. 
The field being thus cleared of infection, the greatest benefit would accrue from 
disinfection of the plant-tops. And while soaking i in Bordeaux mixture is gener- 
ally recommended for this purpose, it seems that the two per cent. solution of 
corrosive sublimate may be the more efficacious, since it has been found to kill 
even the eggs of pests without having an injurious action on the eyes of the plants. 
In relation to this treatment of the fields and of the tops, there are many 
points, even drawbacks, to.be considered, both as regards the efficacy against 
pests and the security of the plants. 
In the case of the tops, there would necessarily be an extra cost in the handling; 
and by somewhat more skilled labour, for the selection of the plants. It is 
obviously useless to secure plants free from infection, if they are otherwise unfit ; 
and it will often be found that tops are so damaged by former insect attack, or 
by the burning of the canes before cutting, that they should certainly be 
thrown aside. This care in the selection of sound plants, free from infection, 
would repay itself in more vigorous growth, in greater resistance to adverse 
conditions, and in the comparative “freedom from subsequent supplying, all 
three of which are points of very great importance. 
For flooding, the first consideration is the availability of an abundant water 
supply, which1 may bea condition of great stringency in dry seasons with many 
groups of estates, where the water is conserved for nay igation. No doubt this 
difficulty could be obviated by agreement between estates in urgent cases, though 
most likely it could be met by flooding areas as they are cropped at other times, 
and other fields in the vicinity, successively, without waiting for the cropping 
later in the dry season. 
Complete flooding of any part, on nearly every estate, makes a pump a desidera- 
tum. The initial expenses are thus high, but apart from this power of dealing 
with infested districts continuously, and in the most satisfactory manner, as has 
been the practice for some years on Pln. Enmore, it is clear also that this 
outlay is justified by the largely increased returns obtained by this flooding, 
especially where it has been prolonged on lands that would otherwise have been 
abandoned. A pump thus becomes a necessary instrument of the cultivation, 
and one that would be of very great utility in flooding fields for long periods before 
re-planting. ; 
In dealing with fields to be ratooned, it is advisable that the flooding should be 
for the longest period possible which conditions at the time allow ; and no doubt 
much remains to be learnt in relation to the weather, the soil, and the variety of 
cane. The eggs of the giant moth-borer are capable of withstanding complete 
immersion for three days; and it is likely that, if any field has been heavily 
infested by this pest, many young grubs would hatch out evenaftera longer 
period. At Pln, Enmore, however, actual experience shows that a shorter period 
of flooding may be sufficient to reduce infestation to a very small percentage. 
And while a variable number of the stumps will die back after treatment, this is 
likely to be less than those that would be destroyed by the grubs, if they be left 
where the infestation is severe, Where grubs are numerous in the stumps 
