144 
Item.  Duty. 
When  the  price  is  below  §19  per  / v'l 
pikul  ...  ...  \ ^ ^ * 
When  819  per  jMkul  ui)  to82i  f , j r 
/ , . ^ N ‘ ‘ < I per  cent,  aa  valorem. 
(inclusive)  ...  ...  b , 
When  above  $21  ,,  ,,  §23  i .1  ,,  „ 
n > ) 23))  ) ) 252  , , , , 
)>  n 25  ))  »)  2^  ,,  ,, 
The  duty  on  Parchment  Coffee  is  calculated  on  two  thirds  of  the 
gross  weight,  and  on  Dry  Cherry  on  one  third  of  the  gross  weight. 
Insect  Pests.— White  Ants  (Termes  ^eslrol).— The  ravages 
of  this  pest  have  been  perceptibly  less  since  it  has  come  to  be  re- 
cognised that  a disturbance  of  the  soil  round  the  area  of  attack, 
and  the  destruction  of  the  jungle  wood  on  the  ground  in  which 
they  breed,  notably  nibong  stumps  and  trunks,  do  more  to  disor- 
ganise their  operations  than  any  other  treatment.  The  percentage 
of  affected  trees  which  actually  die,  is  now  comparatively  small, 
at  any  rate  on  alluvial  land.  On  the  hills  it  is  of  course  more 
difficult  to  get  at  the  ants  on  account  of  the  depth  to  which  they 
go,  but  even  there,  no  more  satisfactory  remedy  than  continual 
disturbance  wherever  they  make  their  appearance,  has  yet  been 
discovered. 
The  Bee  H.-wyk  Moth. — The  caterpillars  of  this  species  have, 
during  the  past  year,  caused  a great  deal  of  anxiety  to  owners  of 
coffee  estates  in  the  Klang  district.  It  has  only  been  by  the  most 
sustained  effort  and  the  expenditure  of  vn'ry  large  sums  of  money, 
that  their  ravages  have  been  kept  within  bounds.  A feature  of  the 
attack,  has  been  its  persistent  recrudescence  in  spite  of  the  ap- 
parent completeness  of  the  measures  taken  for  its  suppression.  A 
small  batch  of  Ceylon  crows  vveii^  imported  by  the  Government  at 
your  Chairman’s  suggestion,  in  the  hope  that  these  useful  birds 
would  settle  in  the  country,  and  perha[)s  help,  in  course  of  time, 
to  keep  the  caterpillar  pest  down.  The  experiment  has  so  far 
proved  a success  in  that  the  birds  readily  devoured  the  caterpillars 
when  supplied  to  them  whilst  in  captivity,  and  have  not  since  their 
release  deserted  the  locality.  It  yet  remains  to  be  seen,  however, 
if  they  will  breed. 
Coconut  Beetles. — “ The  staff  which  1 hope  shortly  to  have 
“ at  my  disposal  will,  I believe,  prove  sufficient  to  carry  out  the 
‘‘  necessary  measures  for  the  protection  of  coconut  trees,  and  I trust 
“that  before  long  the  disastrous  effects  caused  by  the  present 
“ravages  of  the  beetles,  may  be  minimised  as  much  as  possible.” 
The  above  is  a verbatim  extract  from  a letter  addressed  by  the 
Federal  Inspector  of  Coconut  Trees  to  your  Association,  when  first 
he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  appointment,  and  your  Committee 
have  great  pleasure  in  testifying  to  the  excellence  and  already  far- 
reaching  effects  of  the  measures  that  have  been  taken  for  the  sup- 
pression of  the  beetle  pest.  It  does  not  seem  too  much  to  hope 
that  within  the  very  near  future  a serious  danger  to  an  imjmrtant 
industry  will  have  been  averted  by  the  ready  and  liberal  assistance 
extended  by  the  Government  at  a most  critical  juncture. 
