and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, —September, 1918. 250 



TR ADR 



MARK 



'Tabloid' 

 edical Outfits 



In his book, Scouting for Stanley in 

 East Africa, Thomas Stevens wrote : 

 " Stanley, in recommending these 

 ( ' Tabloid ' ) medicines, has 

 earned the gratitude of every 

 man who goes to a tropical 

 country." 



No. 254. Size: 

 9K X 7 X 654 In. The 

 ideal Estate Chest. 

 Approx. price in 

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Particulars, outfits and refilllnat 

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SHANGHAI BUBNOS AIR BS All Rights Reserved 



A minute beetle (Xyleborus parvulus) of the 

 family SeolvtidcE has from time to time been re- 

 ported as attacking rubber. These reports show 

 that the insect is widely spread. Many planters 

 are acquainted with the shot hole-borer of 

 Ceylon which is a closely allied species attack- 

 ing tea. 



Many inquiries are received in connection 

 with this beetle and the following notes by the 

 Entomologist will, therefore, be of interest. 



If extensive pollarding is resorted to, Xyle- 

 borus will, in all probability, make its appear- 

 ance, almost certainly should the wounds not be 

 tarred ; careless tarring will also enable this in- 

 sect to gain an entrance. 



Borers. 



It is common knowledge with planters that 

 should a tree die, either from root fungus, 

 Liplodia or other causes, it will soon become 

 full of borers. There are two or three kinds, 

 but commonly of two only. One is minute, dark- 

 brown (Xyteborus) , the other nearly a quarter 

 of an inch long, light-brown and cylindrical 

 (Platypus). The former has attracted atten- 

 tion, because it has been noticed occasionally to 

 enter healthy trees. Frequently it is found 

 boring into trees where latex is still present, but 

 these trees are usually diseased. 



The only instances where I have found ap- 

 parently healthy trees attacked is on those est- 

 ates where pollarding has been indulged in 

 freely or where trees have been weakened from 

 various causes. Here two or three instances 



were found, a few beetles having succeeded in 

 gaining an entrance just beneath the lateral 

 branches. On the trunk of the tree were 

 numerous beetles caught in the latex exuding 

 from the wound made in their attempt to reach 

 the wood. If in large numbers, and they may 

 be when a tree is badly diseased although not 

 dead, their presence is apparent from the dead 

 dust at the base of the tree and the small cylin- 

 drical lengths of compressed wood dust project- 

 ing from the minute holes in the t^ee. Their 

 presence may sometimes be detected by a tear 

 of latex having its origin at a small hole, or a 

 coagulated drop of latex covering a small hole, 

 but neither of these are definite indications. 



Crickets. 



The cricket, Brachytrypes achatmus, has given 

 trouble to many rubber planters, Id confines its 

 attacks to young clearings, and its effects are 

 similar to those caused by the beetles (Xylo- 

 trupes). On some estates the damage caused 

 by this insect has been extensive and thorough. 



During the day the cricket remains in 

 burrows made by itself, at night emerging 

 and nibbling the shoots of young rubber 

 stumps. So constantly does it continue its 

 work that over a large area stumps of eight 

 months' old bear no green leaves. By repeatedly 

 sending forth new shoots a large excresence is 

 formed which may be on the stump or on one of 

 the larger shoots at the point where smaller 

 shoots have persistently been nibbled off. Several 

 hundred acres are sometimes attacked in this 



