﻿27 
  

  

  Control 
  hy 
  Collection. 
  In 
  tlie 
  early 
  morning, 
  workers 
  provided 
  with 
  

   a 
  metal 
  case 
  and 
  heavy 
  knife 
  search 
  all 
  rotten 
  wood, 
  heaps 
  of 
  leaves, 
  

   etc., 
  which 
  may 
  harbour 
  the 
  beetles. 
  Every 
  native 
  must 
  bring 
  in 
  a 
  

   minimum 
  number 
  fixed 
  by 
  the 
  village 
  chief. 
  About 
  9 
  o'clock 
  the 
  

   count 
  is 
  made 
  and 
  destruction 
  effected 
  by 
  fire 
  or 
  boiling 
  water. 
  At 
  

   the 
  present 
  time 
  this 
  collecting 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  efficacious 
  measure. 
  But 
  

   the 
  natives 
  often 
  render 
  it 
  illusory, 
  either 
  by 
  gathering 
  in 
  special 
  

   likely 
  places 
  instead 
  of 
  on 
  their 
  own 
  plantations, 
  or 
  by 
  robbing 
  the 
  trap 
  

   heaps 
  got 
  together 
  by 
  the 
  Government 
  workers. 
  Also 
  they 
  probably 
  

   breed 
  beetles 
  for 
  the 
  purpose. 
  But 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  this, 
  collecting 
  

   remains 
  a 
  valuable 
  aid. 
  

  

  Decoy 
  Methods. 
  Light 
  has 
  been 
  used, 
  but 
  without 
  much 
  success. 
  

   The 
  author 
  thinks 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  useful 
  as 
  an 
  aid 
  to 
  other 
  decoy 
  methods. 
  

   He 
  has 
  also 
  experimented 
  with 
  toddy, 
  but 
  cannot 
  report 
  favourably 
  

   on 
  its 
  usefulness 
  as 
  a 
  means 
  of 
  attracting 
  the 
  beetles. 
  

  

  Trap 
  heaps 
  were 
  employed 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  pest 
  appeared, 
  and 
  much 
  

   money 
  was 
  expended 
  on 
  them. 
  Groups 
  of 
  10 
  to 
  20 
  natives, 
  under 
  

   white 
  supervision, 
  erect 
  heaps 
  of 
  old 
  wood 
  (especially 
  pieces 
  of 
  palm 
  

   trunk), 
  leaves 
  (especially 
  of 
  the 
  banana), 
  and 
  earth. 
  The 
  low^er 
  part 
  

   of 
  the 
  pile 
  is 
  in 
  a 
  trough, 
  the 
  upper 
  part 
  stands 
  above 
  the 
  soil 
  level. 
  

   The 
  total 
  height 
  is 
  about 
  20 
  inches, 
  generally 
  less. 
  Smaller 
  heaps 
  

   composed 
  of 
  leaves 
  only 
  have 
  been 
  used, 
  but 
  are 
  being 
  abandoned, 
  as 
  

   the 
  natives 
  turn 
  them 
  over. 
  Cacao 
  pods 
  are 
  buried 
  in 
  some 
  planta- 
  

   tions 
  and 
  make 
  good 
  traps. 
  The 
  heaps 
  are 
  turned 
  over 
  every 
  six 
  or 
  

   eight 
  weeks. 
  This 
  frequent 
  search 
  ensures 
  the 
  discovery 
  of 
  nearly 
  

   every 
  larva. 
  Both 
  females 
  and 
  males 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  these 
  heaps 
  ; 
  of 
  

   1,000 
  captured 
  beetles 
  566 
  were 
  females 
  and 
  434 
  males, 
  but 
  the 
  pro- 
  

   portion 
  varies 
  considerably. 
  

  

  At 
  present 
  there 
  are 
  about 
  600 
  heaps, 
  and 
  in 
  1912, 
  11,300 
  beetles, 
  

   220 
  pupae, 
  nearly 
  776,000 
  larvae 
  and 
  over 
  180,000 
  eggs 
  were 
  collected. 
  

   In 
  round 
  figures, 
  about 
  a 
  million 
  pests 
  were 
  caught 
  at 
  a 
  cost 
  of 
  28,000 
  

   marks 
  (£1,400), 
  which 
  works 
  out 
  at 
  a 
  little 
  over 
  1 
  farthing 
  each. 
  

  

  The 
  author 
  is 
  of 
  opinion 
  that 
  at 
  present 
  this 
  method 
  is 
  as 
  useful 
  

   and 
  as 
  necessary 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  past. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  shown 
  that 
  the 
  applica- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  carbon 
  bisulphide 
  to 
  the 
  heaps 
  is 
  effective, 
  and 
  the 
  poison 
  need 
  

   only 
  be 
  used 
  every 
  3 
  months 
  ; 
  the 
  cost 
  w^ould 
  be 
  less 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  

   digging 
  up 
  the 
  heaps. 
  

  

  Besides 
  carbon 
  bisulphide 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  other 
  substances 
  were 
  tried. 
  

   Saltpetre 
  gave 
  really 
  good 
  results. 
  It 
  can 
  be 
  used 
  with 
  buried 
  cacao 
  

   pods 
  ; 
  garden 
  beds 
  can 
  be 
  manured 
  with 
  it 
  ; 
  trap 
  heaps 
  — 
  which 
  are 
  

   no 
  longer 
  required 
  as 
  such 
  — 
  can 
  be 
  treated 
  with 
  it 
  ; 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  used 
  on 
  

   tree-trunks 
  and 
  roots. 
  

  

  Removal 
  of 
  breeding 
  places. 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  most 
  important 
  measure. 
  

   Dead 
  palm-w^ood 
  is 
  always 
  dangerous, 
  and 
  by 
  boring 
  a 
  hole 
  in 
  the 
  

   trunk 
  and 
  filling 
  it 
  with 
  saltpetre, 
  the 
  latter 
  will 
  gradually 
  permeate 
  

   the 
  wood. 
  How 
  long 
  this 
  action 
  will 
  be 
  useful 
  is 
  still 
  an 
  open 
  ques- 
  

   tion. 
  It 
  is 
  quite 
  clear 
  that 
  by 
  careful 
  cleaning 
  of 
  the 
  plantations 
  the 
  

   pest 
  can 
  be 
  reduced. 
  

  

  Natural 
  enemies. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  reasons 
  for 
  the 
  spread 
  of 
  the 
  pest 
  in 
  

   these 
  islands 
  is 
  the 
  lack 
  of 
  natural 
  enemies. 
  The 
  semi-wild 
  pigs 
  of 
  

   the 
  natives 
  are 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  to 
  be 
  despised 
  in 
  this 
  respect, 
  and 
  are 
  already 
  

   used 
  for 
  this 
  purpose. 
  Attempts 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  introduce 
  the 
  

  

  