54 EVERYDAY LIFE ON A 



Though plant life is exuberant in this climate, 

 its enemies are many, cocoanut palms, cocoa, 

 and coffee have each a special insect, (to say 

 nothing of fungus) that makes them its prey. 

 At muster the other evening, one man came up 

 to Rob holding a curious string of something in 

 his hand, reminding me much of the grass 

 strings of wild strawberries of my early days. 

 On nearer inspection these proved to be a kind 

 of red and black beetle about half an inch long, 

 having a sharp proboscis with which it bores 

 into, and through the soft pith of the young 

 cocoanut palms, and eventually kills the tree, 

 unless it is discovered and eradicated in time. 

 At intervals skilled coolies are told off to search 

 for cocoanut " poochies ; " when caught they 

 string the beetles and also the larvce, on a 

 thick bit of grass and bring them to muster to 

 shew how many have really been caught. In 

 this case-seventy eight beetles had been cut out 

 and impaled by one man, and this was thought 

 a good day's work. 



We have had a great excitement. One of 

 the dogs was suddenly found to be mad. It 

 had for some days shewn signs of extreme 

 irritability, and made night hideous by its howls 

 and yells, at last it became unmistakably mad, 

 and Rob shot it, first having a very narrow 

 escape of being bitten, as the animal flew at his 

 wrist, fortunately he was wearing his wristband 



