266 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
COFFEE  rLANTINC  IN  SOUTHERN 
ASIA  AND  THE  NEED  OF  IM- 
PORTING “LADYRIRDS”  TO 
CLEAR  AWAY  INSECT 
ENEMIES. 
II  was  suj^'j'esteil  in  these  columns  very  re- 
cently, that  the  comparatively  few  coll’oe  planters 
or  proprietors  in  Ceylon  now-a-days  should  unite 
with  their  brethren  in  Southern  India,  the  Straits 
and  Java  to  commission  Mr.  Kcehele  once  more 
to  visit  tiueensland  and  bring  over  another  con- 
si'mment  of  “ladybirds,”  the  enemies  of  all 
varieties  of  “bugs'”  and  other  evils  on  collee. 
It  was  pointed  out  that  the  importance  of  taking 
care  that  no  parasites  accompanied  the  tiny  bug- 
eaters,  almost  necessitated  the  eini)loyment  of 
some  one  as  ex])erienced  and  skilful  as  Mr. 
Kccbele,  and  he  has  clearly  expressed  his  readi- 
ness to  serve  planters  in  Southern  Asia  as  he 
has  already  done  the  fruit-growers  of  California 
and  the  planters  of  Honolulu.  In  a letter  dated 
14th  August  from  Devonshire,  Mr.  E.  Ernest  Green 
supports  the  proposal  as  follows : 
With  respect  to  your  remarks  on  Mr.  Koobele  and 
the  ladybirds,  I agree  with  you  that  we  sliould  find 
it  difficult  to  raise  by  ourselves  a sufficient  fee  to 
compensate  Mr.  Koebele  for  his  trouble : but  I note 
in  last  No.  (July)  of  T.A.  that  the  Nilgiri  planters 
are  moving  in  the  matter  and  petitioning  Government 
for  assistance  in  procuring  the  beetles.  Could  we  not 
make  a joint  fund— which,  with  some  possible  added 
assistance  from  the  two  Governments,  might  make 
it  worth  Mr.  Kmbele’s  while  to  help  us  in  the  same 
wav  that  he  has  already  helped  the  Californian  fruit- 
growers and  the  cofiee  planters  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands?  As  you  suggest,  .Java  and  the  Sti'aits  plant- 
ers might  join  too  ? It  is  all  on  the  way. 
In  uuother  column  will  be  found  a communi- 
cation from  a correspondent  adverse  to  the  in- 
troduction of  the  ladj'bird,  but  in  view  of  all 
the  scientilic  evidence  we  have  heard  in  favour 
of  it,  we  are  still  iuclined  to  the  opinion  that 
in  the  interests  of  “ collec,”  the  Secretary  of  the 
Ceylon  Planter.s’  Association  might  aj)proach  the 
representative  body  of  Southern  India  as  well 
as  tho.se  of  the  Straits  and  .Jav^a,  to  sound  them 
as  to  co-operation  in  so  eminently  commendable 
an  enterprise,  and  if  tlie  planters  do  their  i)art, 
we  may  feel  safe  that  the  authorities  will  not 
be  bcldnd  in  giving  some  aid  ; while  we  might 
also  exiiect  the  steamer  Companies  concerned  to 
be  specially  liberal  towards  an  undertaking, 
whicli,  if  succes.sful,  is  calculated  to  revive  and 
extend  an  industry  tliat  did  so  much  for  Eastern 
frei'dits  in  days  gone  by.  It  only  remains  then 
that  a start'  shouhl  be  made,  and  obviously 
that  omdit  to  come  from  the  Ceylon  Associ.ation 
if ' Mr.  "Philip,  under  the  sanction  of  his  Com- 
mittee can  find  tium  to  add  to  his  many  good 
deeds  by  sounding  the  sister  Associations  in  the 
other  coffee  countries  named  on  this  subject  of  a 
jiroposed  mission  for  Mr.  Rccbele. 
^ — ♦- — — 
THE  LADYBIRD  A HUiMBUG. 
(/b/«  Correspondent. ) 
Notwithstanding  the  interesting  comments  of 
the  absent  editor,  backed  by  a brace  of  special- . 
ists  I am  very  much  disposed  to  think  the  lady- 
bini  is  a bit  of  a humbug,  and,  for  any  practical 
purpose,  valueless,  for  Ceylon. 
This  I say  deliberately  after  several  years 
ob-servation  in  Australia,  where  I saw  more  scaly 
bii"'  th.an  ever  I fouml  elsewhere  in  the  world. 
'I'hat  the  ladybird  feeds  upon  bug,  plant-lice  and 
other  enemies  of  planters  and  gardeners  every- 
body knows  who  has  taken  the  trouble  to  study 
[Oct.  r,  1896. 
the  habits  of  the  pretty  little  creatures,  but  that 
their  appetite  is  .so  voracious— or  tliat  they  would 
multiply  to  such  a degree  as  to  clear  Ceylon 
of  green  bug,  seems  extremely  improbable.  Of 
course  the  brief  report  of  Mr.  Kcehele  that  the 
few  eolfee  trees  in  Honolulu  are  “now  practi- 
cally clean”  looks  encouraging,  but  we  must  not 
shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  from  elsewhere 
we  have  the  best  authenticated  reports  of  her 
ladyship’s  complete  failure  to  answer  the  pur- 
pose for  which  she  was  introduced  at  consider- 
able expense.  Take  the  following  from  the 
Ontario  Observer,  May  30,  1896  : — 
While  it  has  been  given  a fair  opportunity  to  de- 
monstrate its  worth  as  a scale  devourer,  yet  its 
failure  has  been  sufficiently  marked  in  this  county, 
as  to  render  its  efficacy  a matter  for  serious  doubt. 
But  it  would  be  unwise  not  to  give  it  every  po-ssible 
show  to  vindicate  the  claims  of  its  friends,  but  pen- 
ding such  experiments  the  work  of  fumigation  should 
be  vigorously  prosecuted  in  all  infested  orchard.s. 
Then 
Commissioner  Van  Kirk  of  Riverside  county,  in 
his  animal  report,  says  of  the  work  of  this  ladybird 
in  his  district: — This  parasite  has  been  fostered  and 
pushed  upon  the  growers,  with  the  understanding 
that  as  soon  as  colonized,  they  need  have  no  further 
fear  of  the  ravages  of  the  black  scale.  Hence  they 
have  been  given  full  sway  in  several  sections  and 
the  results  (where  they  have  been  depended  upon 
entirely)  have  proved  almost  a failure  on  the  orange 
trees.  On  the  olive  trees  their  work  is  more  satis- 
factory, but  is  hardly  sufficiently  marked  in  any 
line  to  justify  us  in  giving  them  any  further  con- 
sideration. 
Ami  finally  read  what  the  Ojai  of  July  4th  saith: — 
When  the  ladybird  was  introduced  in  the  valley, 
it  was  proclaimed  that  we  had  secured  an  ally 
which,  alone  and  single  handed,  would  speedily  re- 
move the  pest  from  our  orchards.  For  a time  the 
ladybird  did  her  work  with  satisfaction.  But  she 
has  gone  off  duty,  with  no  immediate  prospect  of 
going  on  again.  * * The  ladybird  is  not  the 
exterminator  she  has  been  ‘‘  cracked  up  ” to  be. 
Bhe  does  n’t  extirpate  the  fungus.  She  devours  the 
precise  number  of  scale  that  suits  her  appetite,  and 
she  then  ceases  to  devour  until  a strange  feeling 
comes  over  her  and  reminds  that  she  is  again 
hungry.  * We  said  formerly  the  ladybird  to  be  worth 
her  weight  in  gold.  Wo  still  give  her  credit  for 
being  worth  her  “scale”  weight  in  silver  at  1 to  2. 
But  we  have  become  conservative  in  our  opinion 
as  to  her  ability  to  totally  destroy  the  scale.  She 
is  an  enemy  of  the  scale  and  consequently  our 
friend.  We  want  to  give  her  full  credit  for  all  she 
docs.  Yet  we  feel  that,  after  all,  she  does  only 
as  much  in  the  way  of  freeing  our  orchards  of  the 
scale  as  does  the  gopher  snake  toward  removing 
from  the  earth  the  gopher,  the  cat  the  mouse,  and 
the  birds  the  insects.  * * It  is  a duty  each 
grower  in  the  valley  owes  all  the  other  growers  to 
send  the  Board  of  Supervisors  a sample  of  his 
schiography  on  that  petition. 
After  whicli  it  will  probably  occur  to  the  judi- 
cious planter  tliat  it  wouhf  lie  unwise  to  incur 
any  extraordinary  outlay  in  that  direction. 
With  regard  to  collee  leaf  blight  and  its  sequel 
green  bug,  my  impression  is  that  so  long  as  there 
is  a coli'ee  tree  in  the  island  there  will  be  leaf 
disease.  If  it  were  possible  to  pass  an  edict  to 
stami)  out  every  coffee  tree  .and  keep  them  out 
for  a few  years,  then  it  might  be  re-introduced 
with  some  hoiie  of  success,  as  the  fungus  must 
die  as  did  the  ]>otato  blight  when  deprived  of  its 
natural  food.  ^Vhether  it  would  return  again  is 
another  question.  The  occasional  return  visits 
of  the  iiotato  fungus  have  never  however  been 
so  serious  ,as  the  first  inlliction  in  KS46. 
Few  have  a greal.er  respect  and  admiration  for 
the  labours  of  jirofessor  Marshall  Ward  than  I 
have,  but  (he  question  is  did  he  suggest  anything 
to  “ ward  ” oil'  the  disease  ? 
