INJURIOUS TO THE LEBBEK TREES OF CAIRO. 137 



then have been brought by people of various nationalities against the 

 O-overnment for real or fancied damages. 



The same objections apply, of course, to the use and application in the 

 ordinary manner of any insecticides to trees in the main thoroughfares of the 

 city. Many persons v/ould be certain to insist that injury had been done to 

 their houses, goods or persons by the drip from trees sprayed with paraffin 

 ■emulsion or other materials. Traffic would have to be stopped temporarily in 

 those streets where spraying operations were in force, and windows, etc., 

 would have to be kept closed. It is said that this alone would be very difficult 

 to carry out, and the two sets of objections form an insurmountable difficulty 

 •so far as spraying is concerned. 



It is difficult, therefore, to see along what lines the control of the mealy 

 bug can be attained. The only course open appears to be to endeavour to 

 improve the health of the trees, trusting that their increased vigour, in con- 

 junction with natural enemies, will prevent the mealy bug from increasing to 

 injurious proportions. The only other direction in which something can be 

 done is to replace the lebbek by a tree whose insect pests are not so difficult 

 to control. This is beino- done in Cairo in those streets which were so 

 ■severely injured by the mealy bug during the past year. Attempts might 

 also be made to propagate some of the more important insect enemies of the 

 Ddctijlopius on a large scale in an insectarium, so that their numbers might 

 be considerably increased in the more heavily infected areas. 



BULL. ENT. RES. VOL. I. PART II. Jl^LY I9IC. 



