161 



fugar canes were becoming yearly more and more serious. Mr. Tonge 

 was in despair. He carefully studied the habits of the insects and then 

 organised a system of treatment which was steadily pursued for two 

 years. Every peison engaged on the estate was taught to recc gnise at 

 a glance the successive stages cf the insect, viz.. the grub, the chrysalis 

 and the mature insect. A small sum was offt n d fcr these and pay- 

 ment was made at the close of each day. During one month (Feb- 

 ruaiy 1893) theie were destroyed 46,884 insects in various stages. 

 During the rest of the year the numbers weie not so large, but the re- 

 cord kept of them shows th; t 9,640 giubs were cut out of standing 

 canes, 5,022 were destroyed in the chrysalis staj^e, and 1,144 moths 

 were caught on the wing. By judicious management and personal in- 

 fluence Mr. Tonge has so thoroughly enlisted the interest of the work 

 people that the moth-borer is becoming less end less plentiful. Its 

 piactical extei mination on this estate is now (nly a question of time. 

 The period during \shich the canes are growing iippears to be the most 

 critical time. Women and children are then kept regularly employed 

 in cut ing out any canes attack^ d by the moth-borer, and the grubs 

 are destroyed in their burrows. 1 his is regaided as a most effective 

 pltn It is believed that if this plan nlor e were regularly pursued in 

 the West Indies for two or three seasons the injuries would be reduced 

 within comparatively small dimensions."* 



This plan would no doubt be still more effective if the eggs were 

 collected regularly in addition to the other stages. 



In the Repoit of the Barbados Commission (1894) for destroying 

 the Moth-borer and other pests, the following statement occurs: — 

 " One of the Queen.^land recommendati ns is, cut off and burn the first 

 shoots that sprinj^ from the planted cane cuttinos. These shoots are 

 allowed to grow for about three months, by which time the grubs wi I 

 \ ave congregated in them. The sheets are then cut cl se to the i^round 

 piled in heaps, and burned. The second crop of shoots soon appears, 

 and the skins of these latter are said to be much tougher and bt-tter 

 able to resist the attacks of giubs which may have escaped the burn- 

 ing. The plan is often supplemented by sending in labourers to des- 

 ire y all the caterpillars they can find in the second growth ofcnts." 

 This recommendation, if adopted, would certainly affect the lavages of 

 moth-bcrer < nly to a Tery slight extent. It is unsuited to the habits 

 of the borer, aid would prove ineffective in the West Indies. As is 

 stated above, it is of little use to cut out youog canes three months 

 after they ci me up It must be done earlier. The whole period of a 

 moth-borer's life being at the most seven weeks, a number of moths 

 would have escaped fiom the young canes during a period so long as 

 three months, and the usefulness of the remedy would thereby be 

 greRtly impaired. Also, there does not appear to be any cane in Bar- 

 bados that will resist the ( aterpillar's attack. Canes of all kinds are 

 attacked, and if caterpillars are shut up in a box with a piece of the 

 hardest White Transparent cane, they will eat their way into the joints 

 in a short time : the ends of the pieces of cane w* re tied up in cloth to 

 prevent the caterpillars going in at the cut ends 



*" Kew Bulletin" 1894, p. 174. 



