and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



191 



being collected must either be buried deep into 

 the soil and trampled, or summarily consigned 

 to the fire. It was found from enquiry that the 

 pest in question was no new thing in the (State. 

 Some of the people affirmed that the same pest 

 had about 10 or 15 years ago appeared on and 

 caused much damage to trees in the narrow strip 

 of land between the sea and the backwaters, to 

 the north of British Cochin. From the Report 

 of the Superintendent of Agriculture, it may be 

 seen that the pest had been observed some 30 

 years ago in some localities. From this it is 

 evident that the pest is neither a new nor 

 a rare thing in the Cochin State. It seems to be 

 always present in that vast coconut forest, 

 breeding normally in small numbers in some cor- 

 ner or other, and only sporadically increasing so 

 as to become a very serious pesfcto small areas. It 

 seems ordinarily to be kept in check by its bracon 

 parasite. The presence of a hyperparasiLe on the 

 latter is again an indication of the long stan- 

 ding establishment of the pest and its parasite 

 within the Coconut belt. "The trees attacked, 

 in general, completely recover, death occurring 

 only in very rare cases. The increase of the pest 

 can, moreover, be easily checked by cutting 

 down affected branches and burning them. Again 

 the pest is one that is very slow of increase as may 

 be inferred from the long duration of its pupal 

 period. Under these circumstances, the nature 

 and habits of the pest do not seem to justify the 

 wholesale panic felt by some of the suffering pro- 

 prietors since it is by no means such a dangerous 

 and invidious foe as the fungus causing the 

 coconut palm disease." — M. Mail, Jan. 6. 



PESTS IN THE F.M, S, 



A New Ordinance to Prevent Introduction. 



Nearly all the Colonies especially those of the 

 tropics have now regulations as to the import- 

 ation of plants or seeds from countries in which 

 there is any animal or plant pest affecting these 

 plants, and through which the disease is likely 

 to be introduced. These regulations are intended 

 of course to protect cultivated plants only, and 

 are usually, but not always, enforced when there 

 is a definite disease affecting an extensive culti- 

 vation in the country of the would be exporter, 

 and the same cultivation without the disease in 

 the country to which it is intended to export 

 the plant. Thus Jamaica for many years prohi- 

 bited the importation of any living plants 

 of whatever kind from any country which there 

 was cultivated coffee affected with Remileia 

 Vastatrix, and thus kept the disease out of the 

 country for a considerable period. There are 

 diseases which no man can possibly prevent 

 the invasion of as the distances which spores of 

 fungi can float on the wind is very great and in 

 countries at all contiguous they can drift across 

 if the wind is suitable. The bee hawk moth, 

 the caterpillar of which was so destructive to 

 the coffee some years ago inSelangor, is also a 

 very long flying insect. I found it quite abundant 

 in Christmas island over 200 miles from the 

 nearest laud it could have come from- 



But these are rather exceptional cases and 

 most plant diseases appear to be accidentally 

 imported by man. In the interests therefore of 



the great areas of cultivations of plants now- 

 a-days, it is essential to prevent as much as 

 possible any disease that has unfortunately ap- 

 peared in one country from invading another. 



Hitherto there has been no ordinance per- 

 mitting the Colomy to refuse to allow to be 

 imported diseased plants, and it became clearly 

 desirable that it should have this power. Hence 

 at the suggestion of the Director of Gardens 

 the following Ordinance has been passed : — 

 Straits Settlements Ordinance 

 No. XIII of 1908. 



Au Ordinance to prevent the introduction into the Colony 

 of pests and insects destructive to trees, plants and crops. 



It is hereby enacted by the Governor of the Straits 

 Settlements with the advice and consent of the Legislative 

 Council thereof as follows :— 



1. This Ordinance may be cited as "The Destructive 

 Pests Ordinance 1908." 



2. The Governor in Council may from time to time 

 make such orders as may to the Governor in Council ap- 

 pear expedient fur preventing the introduction into the 

 Colony of any insect, fungus or other pest destructive to 

 agrirnltural or horticultural crops or to trees or plants and 

 for preventing the spreading in the Colony of any such 

 insect, fungus or other pest. 



o. Any such order may prohibit or regulate the landing 

 inithe Colony of any tree or plant, or the leaves, branches, 

 stems, roots, seeds or fruit of any tree or plant, or any 

 \ogetable substance or other article the landing whereof 

 may appear to the Governor in Obuncil to be likely to in- 

 troduce such insect, fungus or other pest and may direct 

 or authorise the treatment or destruction of any such 

 ■ trticle. if landed. Any such order may also direct or 

 authurise the treatment, removal or destruction of any 

 crop, tree plant, or substance on which the insect, fungus 

 or other pest in any stage of its existence is found, or by 

 means of which it may appear to the Governor in Council 

 to be likely to spread, and the entering on any lands for 

 the purpose of such treatment, removal or destruction, or 

 for the purpose of any examination or inquiry authorised 

 by the order or for any other purpose of the order. 



4. The Governor in Council may from time to time make 

 orders for the payment of compensation in respect of any 

 crop, tree, plant or other substance destroyed under the 

 provisions : fthis Ordinance. 



5. Any person acting in contravention of any order under 

 this Ordinance shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be 

 liable upon conviction to a tine not exceedius; five hundred 

 dollars. 



Passed this 11th day of September, 190S. 



A. H. LEMON, 

 Clerk of Councils. 

 — Straits Agricultural Bulletin, for Dec. 



CACAO AND GRUBS IN JAMAICA. 



Hundreds of cocoa trees in Jamaica, we read, 

 are dying from a root trouble which is said to be 

 caused by the attacks of a small white grub. This 

 grub is of the same nature, if not identical, with 

 the larvae of the orange weevil, the " Fiddler " 

 bug. Small doses of lime spread over the soil in 

 the radius of the trees is found to do good, but is 

 not entirely effectual if the trees are badly at- 

 tacked. The best way that has so far been 

 found to get rid of the grubs, so as to kill 

 them wholesale, is by the use of Bi-sulphide of 

 Carbon. For 10 years back it has been em- 

 ployed to kill weevils in grain and the ants 

 which make nests at the roots of fruit trees. It 

 is a volatile gas, heavier than air, so that when 

 applied on the top of a barrel of corn or on the 

 top of an ant hill, or around the roots of trees, 

 it sinks and kills all animal life below, within 

 limits of course. To apply this to a cocoa 

 tree, or to every cocoa, tree in a, plantation, is a big 



