Indian Insect Pests. [ YqI, I, 



ritius the chrysalids of the borer were found to be subject to the attack 

 of mites ; no evidence has yet been obtained of any effect produced in 

 either of these ways upon the numbers of the sugarcane pest in India 

 though the writer has observed large numbers of a chalcid fly which is 

 parasitic upon the allied, or identical, jowaree borer. (See p. 29.) 



A large number of remedies have been proposed for the pest, and it 

 seems to be pretty well established that it can be 



xvCIUGQ-IGS. 



to a great extent controlled by the burning or 

 burying all the discarded tops, and clearing the fields of all waste sugar- 

 cane stalks after the crop has been taken ; for, as the insect passes the 

 winter as a larva inside the sugarcane, if these are destroyed, there are no 

 moths in the spring to lay the eggs which produce the next year's 

 " borers. " The waste tops, however, should be carefully gathered to- 

 gether and removed from the field before being burnt, for if they are 

 burnt carelessly, on the field itself, many predaceous insects will be liable 

 to be destroyed, which take shelter in the ground and assist in reducing 

 the numbers of the pest. 



The following may be noticed among the remedies that have been 

 suggested : — 



Guilding recommends ' that all the dry and useless leaves, under which he says the 

 moth lays its eggs, should he stripped off: he claims that this treatment has been 

 found effective in removing the pest. 



Porter quotes 2 the practice of " introducing a pinch of quicklime into the heart of 

 the young cane" for the destruction of the pest. 



Westwood notices 3 that in Jamaica in 1841, the ravages of the borer were to a great 

 extent checked by allowing the refuse to accumulate upon the grounds, and burning 

 them there, the old roots subsequently throwing up more vigorous shoots. 



Miss Ormerod, 4 iu writing of the pest in British Guiana about the year 1879, quotes 

 the practice of cutting back the cane below the surface of the ground, covering the 

 plant with mould, and adding a handful of lime. The cutting out of the affected canes 

 was tried on one estate over 246 acres, the result being considered satisfactory. In this 

 case the canes cut out were put through the mill, and sufficient rum and megus ob. 

 tained from them to pay expenses. Miss Ormerod also quotes the practice of steeping 

 the cane for 48 hours in water before planting it, a treatment which was thought on 

 one plantation, where it was tried, to destroy the hybernating larvae without injury to 

 the cane. It appears from the inquiries instituted in British Guiana, that it is a mis- 

 take to burn the refuse sugarcane on the fields themselves, as this destroys the ants, 

 which, when unmolested, rendered valuable assistance in keeping down the pest. The 

 plan therefore approved was to burn the refuse cane after collecting it in heaps outside 

 the fields 



Dr. Riley recommends 5 burning all " tops " during the winter so as to destroy the 

 larvae which hybernate in them; selecting seed cane from the least infested portion of 

 the plantation and laying it down in furrows during the winter, covered with earth as 

 deeply as should be found possible without inducing decay, and only uncovering it as 



' Trans. Soc. Arts, Vol. XL VI, p. 43 (1828). 



2 Nature and Properties of Sugarcane, by G. R. Porter, London, 1830. 



3 Gardener's Chronicle, 5th July 1856, p. 453. 



4 Proc. Eut. Soc, Lond. 1880, p. 16; and 1879, pp. 33 and 36. 



5 Iu his report on the insect. 



