DISEASES AND PESTS OF THE MAIZE CROP 



43i 



It is said that the inquisitiveness of the baboon will lead him chap. 

 to pick at or bite this bright object and so bring about his own x - 

 destruction. The caps may also be laid on the twigs of wild 

 fruit trees. It is as well to warn the natives of the nature of 

 these attractive looking things. 



From another source l we get this idea for the use of 

 arsenic : — 



Cut the tops nearly off some prickly pear fruits, take out 

 part of the seeds, put a small quantity of arsenic in their place, 

 and close down the lid formed by the top of the fruit. Put 

 these near a " krans " or other place where the baboons sleep, 

 taking care to keep away all stock (including goats) as long as 

 any of these poisoned fruits are left. 



395. Monkeys. — Where bush-land on the sub-tropical 

 coast-belt of South Africa is cleared for agriculture, the com- 

 mon monkey, Cercopithecus pygerythrus Cuv., is a source of 

 much annoyance and loss, raiding the maize fields unless the 

 latter are constantly guarded ; in some places piccanins are 

 regularly employed for this purpose. Doubtless as more ex- 

 tensive bush-clearings are made on the coast the number of 

 monkeys will be reduced; but under existing conditions the 

 coast-belt is considered less suitable for maize-growing than 

 the midlands. 



An effective method of poisoning is to boil arsenic with 

 maize, mix it with sugar and put the mixture in places fre- 

 quented by the monkeys. It is reported - that in this way 

 one man killed fifty-five at one time. 



396. Hares. — The jumping hare or spring-haas, Pedetes 

 caffer (Fig. 163), hares, Lepus capensts and L. ochropus, and other 

 rodents occasionally damage the maize crop, digging out the 

 young plants in spring when green food is scarce, and eating 

 the ears of low-cobbing breeds in the autumn. The jumping 

 hare is usually shot at night by the aid of a lantern which at- 

 tracts the attention of the animal when out feeding. Various 

 other methods for ridding the farms of this pest have been 

 recommended as follows : — 



1 Mr. G. L. S. Holland, in T.A.J., Vol. Ill, p. 3S6, 

 2 Mr. F. Oosthuizen, in U.A.J. 



