The Tea insects of India. 



35 



length, which never grew any bigger; and one ease is cited where 199^ 

 acres had been plucked, and had given considerably less leaf than had 

 often been obtained from a patch of seventeen acres. The only treat- 

 ment that was tried was extra hoeing in the hope of bringing vigour to 

 the bushes. The Manager adds :— 



*• To bring the state of things before you in the most comprehensive manner, I have 

 pressed some shoots and send them by to-day's post, together with a little bottle contain- 

 ing about 100 of the insects which do, or are supposed to do, the damage. They are so 

 active and difficult to catch that it took a boy a day and a half to procure the specimens 



to send On one side of the sheet of paper, on which I have pasted the 



samples of shoots, you will find healthily-grown leaves, .... purposely chosen, rather 

 under than over the average as regards size, so as not to create a false impression, or make 

 the comparison too striking. On the opposite side of the sheet are thrippy shoots of all 

 kinds, from the smallest to the largest, but also representing three leaves and the bud. 

 Every one of these should have been as big or bigger than the healthy shoots, but I think 

 the total weight of the sixteen former would not equal that of the three latter. A glance 

 at the specimens will show you how impossible it is to make any outturn out of growth, 

 of this kind." 



The shoots in question were forwarded to the Indian Museum through 

 the courtesy of the Calcutta agents. 



They are shown half size in the figure above. The sprig marked 

 [a) is an ordinary healthy tea-shoot, while those marked [h] are shoots 

 of the same age but suffering from the attack of the insect. 



According to another report, also quoted in Indian Museum Notes j 

 the experiment was tried upon one garden of placing open lamps about 

 in the tea, in hopes of attracting the insects and enabling them to be 

 deitroyed. It was found, however, that whereas myriads of other insects 



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