26 Indian Ecoiiomic Entomology . [ Vol. II. 



prevents the emerg-ence of the grub and saves the fruit from rotting. 

 The Melon Fly does considerable injury to the melon crop, especially to- 

 wards the end of the summer, when the later generations of grubs begin 

 to emerge. Mr. Cleghorn recommends enclosing the fruit in muslin 

 bags, which he endeavours to show would repay their cost, many times 

 over, in increased production of melons. He is of opinion that hard 

 winters kill the majority of the hybernating pupae, so that it is after 

 mild winters that the insect is chiefly abundant. 



The following reports have been kindly furnished by Messrs, Green, 



Kerosine emulsion on Coffee Crow and Shelley, who have experimented 



Scale insects. upon their Ceylon coffee estates with a 



force pump, furnished by Messrs. Woodin & Little of San Francisco 



for applying kerosine emulsion for the destruction of scale insects : — 



" I am now able to report, from personal experience, upon your pump and the 

 kerosine emulsion treatment for ' green-bug, ' I find that the cost is not excessive, 

 varying from about R20 to R30 per acre according to circumstances (nature of land, 

 water-supply, &c.) ; but I am not satisfied with the results. I find that with the 

 greatest care it is impossible to thoroughly saturate the tree with the mixture, and 

 tliat a very large percentage of the insects escape. Even some of those that were 

 fully exposed to the spray were afterwards found to have survived the treatment, 

 although the leaves on which they were fixed had been partially scorched by the action 

 of the kerosine. Where the insects were actually killed, the young larvae were after- 

 wards seen to be crawling in numbers from beneath the dead bodies of their parents. 

 I made the emulsion according to the formula given in Hubbard's Insects affecting 

 the Orange, and diluted it before using in the proportion of one part emulsion to 

 nine parts cold water, as recommended in the same work. 



Particulars of cost 

 To spray 1 acre — 



250 gallons diluted mixture ^ 25 gallotis of the emul- 

 sion = 16| gallons kerosine, costing at local rates . RIB'OO 

 Four pounds, common soap ....... 80 



Application, 10 men @ "37 cts. . . . . . „ 3 70 



Total cost per acre . „ 20oO 



"This experiment was made under the most favourable conditions, the land being 

 comparatively level, and there being an abundant supply of water to hand. This 

 particular form of pump is not the most convenient for the work. The cost of appli- 

 cation would be much less if a Vermorel knap-sack pump were used. The principal 

 faults of the present pump are : — (1) The bucket and pump being separate, it requires 

 two men to work and transport the machine. (2) The dii^tributing hose is not long 

 enough, and at its junction with the pump should be guai'ded with a Uodifield hose- 

 protector to prevent kinking. Of the nozzles, the one with adjustable cap is the most 

 convenient. It gives as good a spray as the cyclone nozzle, and is more readily cleared 

 than the latter. But, unless it can be shown that the treatment is really fatal to 

 the bug (of which I am not assured), it matters little what form of pump is used. 



" 1 have unfortunately been unable to find any one willing to co-operate with me 



