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j ;^6|4p^t;ok TriE Caterpillar Plague in Hong Kong. 

 •Digcbvety and 'Prtve-htion. — The caterpillar which has been attacking 

 the r Piaie tees: (PJ mis < sinensis, Lamb,) in nearly all parts of the Island 

 an<^ J&4wj£on,f isf the caterpillar of a large moth (Eutricha punctata). 



2. It f was r first seen this year towards the end of April, when the in- 

 sects y^re'.h^f;^crrfeJ43aan:two or three lines in length. 



3. At that time tne pest had not commenced its ravages, but knowing 

 its habits by past experience, and in view of the fact that the numbers 

 were greatly in excess of anything seen before, as many as two and 

 three hundred being observed on a single tree, representations were 

 made to the Government, to the effect that the Chinese should be in- 

 vited to collect them, and that all brought in should be paid for by 

 weight. 



4. The Government readily consented to the suggestion, and the 

 Captain Superintendent of Police kindly agreed to allow the caterpil- 

 lars to be brought into the Police Stations nearest to where they were 

 collected. The Botanic Gardens' Office was also a receiving station. 



5. The method of catching these pests was by shaking the trees and 

 then picking up the insects from the ground by means of pincers, or 

 with the fingers enclosed in cloth. A sudden shake of the tree brought 

 most of the caterpillars down, but they soon regained their former 

 positions unless prevented from doing so. 



6. When the insects were brought in to the Police Stations, they 

 were destroyed by pouring boiling water over them or some other effica- 

 cious substance, as sea water, after which they were buried, due pre- 

 cautions being taken that everything was carried out satisfactorily from 

 a sanitary point of view. 



7. Duration. — The length of time the plague has lasted may be put 

 down as two months — from the end of April to the end of June. The first 

 lot brought in by the Chinese was on May 24th, and the last on June 28th. 

 No cocoons were observed until the beginning of June, when arrange- 

 ments were at once made to have them collected and paid for in the 

 same way as the caterpillars. The first lot of cocoons brought in wrs 

 on June 6th, and at the present time they are still being collected 

 although the quantities are becoming less and less. In all probability 

 the cocoons would have been all collected by this time, were it not for 

 the difficulty of getting coolies to do the work, owing to the great 

 scarcity of labour in the C olony during the last few weeks. 



8. Quantities. — The quantity of caterpillars brought in and paid for,, 

 at the various Police Stations and the Botanic Gardens, was over 

 60,000 catties, or nearly 36 tons. Cocoons to the weight of 5,000 cat- 

 ties have been received up to date. There were 511 caterpillars in the 

 particular catty counted, and the cocoons numbered 800 to the catty. 

 This gives the enormous number of 35,000,000 insects destroyed to 

 say nothing of future generations. 



9. Cost. — The expense of getting rid of the scourge has been about 

 $5,000, oranaverage of 7 cents per catty for both caterpillars and cocoons. 

 The price paid per catty was varied according to the quantity of cater- 

 pillars and cocoons found in the several districts. From four to fifteen 

 cents have been offered for caterpillars, although the latter price failed 

 to attract collectors when the insects had become scarce. Cocoons have 

 been paid for at a price varying from twenty to forty cents per catty. 



