212 



Wheat Elevators in India. 



[JUNE, 



have been seven, eight, or nine feet long, were stunted, and 

 only three to four feet long. As there are some thousands of 

 acres under willows in Somerset, one grower alone having 

 more than two hundred, the infestation is obviously an impor- 

 tant matter, for the crop is estimated as worth £2$ an acre. In 

 some cases the whole crop has been destroyed. The shoots at 

 the time of the visit were only a few inches high, but were 

 already attacked by the beetle, and a large number of eggs 

 were seen from which the grub would shortly emerge. Both 

 grub and adult beetle eat the leaves, and there is reason to 

 believe that there are two broods in the year. Various reme- 

 dies had been tried, but apparently without success. The use 

 of arsenate of lead was suggested, and the results will be 

 watched with interest. See also notes in this Journal for July 

 and November, 1908. 



In addition to this two other beetles were found, Poly- 

 drusus pterygomalis (Boh.), a green weevil often found on 

 the leaves of oak, beech, and hazel, as well as willow; and 

 Crepidodera aurata (Marsh), the flea beetle found on the leaves 

 of willow and poplar. 



According to the official "Indian Trade Journal" (Cal- 

 cutta) of 25th March, a circular has been issued by the 

 Indian Railway Board, in which it is 



Wheat Elevators pointed out that the extensive additions 

 in India. now being made to the Port of Karachi 



and the steady increase in the cultiva- 

 tion of wheat in the Punjab indicate that at no distant date 

 the North-Western Railway will have to deal with a very 

 large tonnage of wheat requiring to be delivered at the port 

 within a comparatively short time. The Railway Board 

 consider that this possibility is one that requires careful 

 examination so that steps may be taken in anticipation to 

 meet the reasonable demands of trade, while at the same time 

 avoiding the expenditure of a very large amount of capital 

 to meet a sudden and comparatively short rush of heavy 

 traffic. 



The Director-General of Commercial Intelligence has sug- 

 gested that the introduction of the "elevator" system of 

 dealing with wheat would tend to regulate rushes of traffic, 



