53 The Tea insects of India. 



bottle containing a mixed coUeotion of terrestrial arthropods preserved in spirits 

 ■without finding one or more individuals, or even species, of these parasitic arachnidsj 

 and the least observant amongst us must have repeatedly met with instances of it. 



" When first attacked by the mite the leaves have the appearance described above ^ 

 but as the punctures increase in number they gradually assume a dull, dirty coppery- 

 reddish tinge, become dry and bent and cockled, and finally fall to the ground, 

 leaving, in extreme cases, the stems and branches of the bushes bare. A badly- 

 smitten garden may be recognised from a distance by its red colour." 



The principal points in connection with the life-history of the mite 

 which remain to be ascertained are the number of generations in the 

 year and the length of time spent in its various stages of development. 



The mite is only capable of slow locomotion, and therefore spreads in 

 the first instance very gradually. From Green's observation of its 

 presence upon sheltered bushes in the rainy season, it may be expected 

 to be found to lie up in this manner until the time comes round for it 

 to recommence operations upon the bushes generally. 



In consequence of its frequent localisation in certain areas, red spider 

 lends itself specially to destruction by artificial means and numerous 

 experiments have been made to this end.^ 



The most promising agent for use against red spider appears to be 



sulphur in one form or another. The only 

 Sulphur versus red spider, ^ i p i • • , • i 



method ot applying it which seems as yet 



to have been adopted in Indian tea gardens upon any considerable scale 



is that of dusting flour of sulphur over the affected bushes. This is 



said to have been first tried in the Darjiling district, and has since been 



taken up elsewhere. 



The following series of reports by Mr. G. F. Playfair, furnished 



through the courtesy of Messrs. Bany & Co., give a full and excellent 



account of the experience of a Cachar tea planter in the matter.^ 



14tli March 1892. — " I am taking advantage of the present hot weather to apply 

 the sulphur as advised by Mr. Christison, who makes a point of putting it on during 

 times of bright sunshine. I find the quantity used is exactly one hundredweight to the 

 acre, and cost of application Rl-6. Up to date I have sulphured 60 acres, and will keep 

 on as long as the sulphur last^ or the drought continues. I have given up my original 

 intention of applying half now and the balance when red spider becomes active, as I 

 find in places a good deal of blight is already visible, and I am hopeful that the 

 sulphur will stamp it out before the insect has time to propagate. Some experiments 

 with the mosquito itself tend to show tliat it dies if lightly dusted with the sulphur." 



25th March 1892, — " Bed spider began to show itself all over the early pruned 

 sections, but I applied the sulphur as fast as I could, and wherever the application 



1 Amongst other preparations, decoctions of tomato leaves in water have been 

 strongly recommended for spraying over affected bushes. The number of applications 

 required, however, to rid a single bush in this way of the pest is so great as to render 

 the treatment inapplicable for large areas. In view of what is known of the habits of 

 the pest, it has been suggested as probable that spraying the same number of times 

 with water alone would be almost equally effective. . 



"^ Most of these reports have appeared in Indian Museum X^ote^. 



