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fruit. It increased to become a plague till the second week in 

 January when it mostly disappeared. The vine grub that is very 

 bad on young cuttings cannot exist in a vineyard if weeds are not 

 allowed to grow, as the moth always lays its eggs on weeds and 

 lives on them till the vine bursts. I look upon insecticides to a 

 starved plant as no better than a packet of Pears' soap to a 

 starved man for improving his condition. Miss Omerod's advice 

 to farmers with the fly on turnips is — stimulate the plant to 

 resist the pest, and instruct the fruit-growers with a view of 

 keeping the insect pest in check. We have a gentleman at 

 the head of the Entomological Department who, by his published 

 works, shows he is well qualified to analyze any information we 

 may furnish him with. We are daily coming in contact with 

 insects both destructive and otherwise, and it is at present 

 every fruit-grower's business to send him information. 1 would 

 propose stations, the same as the rain-gauge stations, furnishing 

 charts of the different insects at the stations ; also specimen lamp 

 and appliances to catch insects, as many of our insects swarm 

 about sundown and dusk. Had such stations been at Gleelong, 

 when the phylloxera was about, the Board would have been better 

 able to cope with its habits, and phylloxera would not have been 

 at Strathfieldsaye for a number of years without being observed. 

 The heat in spring causes all vegetation to reproduce its seed ; 

 the same heat causes all insects to come to the surface to reproduce 

 themselves when vegetation is tender. That is the principle time 

 we should be on watch as to their habits. To be forewarned 

 is to be forearmed. 



Mr. Martin, Secretary for Agriculture, read a paper by Mr. 

 W. Farquharson, Dunolly Wine and Fruit-growers' Association, 

 who was not able to be present, on the "Codlin Moth": — My 

 committee have instructed me to give an outline of the views 

 of this association, on a few points which may be discussed at 

 the Conference. 



As insect and other pests are spreading to an alarming ex- 

 tent, this association considers it is necessary that some means 

 be adopted to deal with them systematically, and to compel all 

 growers and owners of fruit trees to keep their trees and vines 

 clear of pests which may be carried or find their way into 

 neighbouring orchards and vine-yards. In this district the codlin 

 moth, peach blight, apple root-borer, red spider, woolly-aphis, 

 Eutherglen fly pest, and the vine moths are the principal insect 

 pests which we have to deal with. With the exception of 

 the codlin moth, many growers here are of opinion that no very 

 stringent measures would be required to deal with most of 



