THE WEST INDIAN LIMK, 



175 



any skins that remain uneaten are trodden down with the manure. This 

 manure is covered over each morning with a layer of dry grass, and 

 allowed to accumulate until the end of crop time. The trees being then 

 in greater need of nourishment, the pens are opened up and the manure 

 carted to the land ; by this method the land suffers but little loss. 



The flowering period usually begins about the middle of January, 

 and gathering the fruit is carried on from June until the latter part of 

 December, the busiest months usually being August and September. 

 A light crop is borne all the year round, and it is impossible to visit a 

 lime plantation at any time of the year without finding some fruit on the 

 trees. 



Insect and Fungoid Pests. 



Like all other plants the lime possesses its natural enemies, the most 

 troublesome being the Orange Mussel Scale {Mytilaspis citricola) and the 

 Orange Snow Scale {Chionaspis citri) ; these, when living together, are 

 capable of causing great destruction to the trees. In 1902 the lime 

 orchards of Dominica suffered considerable damage from the ravages of 

 these scales, which at one time seriously threatened the industry, many of 

 the trees being killed outright and left as if bleached with fire. (Fig. 43.) 

 The Imperial Department of Agriculture came to the timely rescue and 

 recommended that all affected trees should be sprayed with rosin and 

 whale oil soap compound.* This was at once taken up by the leading 

 planters and proved very effective, the scale very soon being got in check 

 and finally overcome. 



These pests have made their appearance each dry season to some 

 slight extent ; but if immediate steps are taken to give the trees a light 

 spraying with this wash they do but little damage. The serious injury 

 these pests did to the lime industry in 1903 is clearly shown in 

 Table I. (p. 187), which shows a drop in these exports of £21,900. It 

 is, however, gratifying to see also that the industry is now gradually 

 regaining its former position, and there is no doubt that in the next two 

 years, provided no similar disaster occurs, this position will not only have 

 been regained but substantially improved. 



Besides these scale pests there are two fungoid pests, which, although 

 not so destructive as the former, prove very troublesome. The first and 

 most common is known as the black blight, and is a fungus which lives 

 upon the excretion of the shield scales, such as the Lecanium. As this 

 pest owes its existence to the presence of these scales it is not difficult to 

 deal with: one spraying of rosin compound usually results in the 

 destruction of the scales and the extermination of the fungus. The 

 damage done by this fungus is due to its stopping up the pores of the 

 leaves and shutting out the light. The second fungoid pest is a species 

 of Altenaria which manifests itself by brown spots on the leaves. Light 

 sprayings of Bordeaux mixture have proved beneficial in checking this 

 pest. 



* Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies, Pamphlet Series, No. 7, 

 p. 26. 



