87 
came of little importance, and now it is hardly considered a 
pest, as it also has a parasite which keeps it in partial check. 
''Following the cut-worm, rats commenced their depreda- 
tions, and with an appetite that one might fear would be dan- 
gerous to well-equipped digestive organs, they peeled the bark 
that contains this most valuable gum we call rubber and in 
some instances have been known to climb trees that were 
six or eight feet high and destroy the more tender shoots, 
either killing the tree or materially setting it back. But their 
depredations were soon stopped when clean cultivation re- 
moved their hiding places, and with the use of dogs and 
poison their homes were destroyed, so that injuries caused 
by this small animal are at present not known, for they are 
so slight it is hardly noticed. 
''At the present time there are one or two small pests that 
are still with us in the form of sucking insects. One of these 
is a small brown scale that usually infests the under part of 
the leaves and congregates along the mid-rib and the soft bark 
of the young and tender twigs. This insect is generally 
known here as the brown or sheel scale, and has been deter- 
mined by Mr. Ehrhorn, Superintendent of Entomology of the 
Board of Agriculture and Forestry, and others, as being Sais- 
setia nigra. The injuries that are caused by this do not come 
so much from what they take out of the tree, as by a black 
fungus that grows on the honey-dew exuded by this scale. 
This fungus covers the leases and branches of the tree and 
materially checks the respiratory organs, and to a certain ex- 
tent weakens the tree. The other of these sucking insects is 
what is generally called the Miali Bug (Dactylopius). This 
also exudes a honey-dew which supplies the growing fungus 
with the material and also has a tendency to curl up the 
leaves, which are all injurious to the tree, to some extent. 
"However, through the assistance of the Board of Agricul- 
ture and Forestry, parasites for these insects have been in- 
troduced in the Nahiku district, and we trust that these in- 
sects will soon be a thing of the past, or be under such con- 
trol that their injurious effects will not be felt, as the scale 
has already shown signs of diminishing. 
"Since tapping has commenced, a few slight injuries by 
boring beetles have been noticed, but at present we are un- 
able to give any special information, nor do we know that it 
can be classed as one of the rubber pests ; but Avill require 
close observation during the coming year to see that it does 
not get a start in our fields. 
"There is still another pest that may possibly become a 
menace to our Heveas. This is a fungus disease which is 
closely allied to what is known as shot-hole fungus (Physlos- 
ticta prunicola), but no fear need be felt from this fungus, as 
we know how to deal with it." 
