COXFECTfONEEY PESTS. 
BY 
c. J. Wild, F.L.S. 
(Bear] on 4th October, 1894). 
^ [This related to the beetles Khizopertha pusilla and 
b}l\aiius suriiiamensis found infesting different forms of 
chocolate met with in Brisbane in confectioners’ trade samples. 
—Ed.] 
THE DATE PALM FOR QUEENSLAND. - 
BY 
T. Morris AIacknight, F.L.S. 
(Read on November 1st, 1894). 
The Date Palm is an example of extraordinary fruitfulness. 
Next to the cocoanut it is unquestionably the most interesting 
and useful of the palm tribe. Without it the desert would be 
uninhabitable. Do we not understand, then, the gratefulness 
of the Arab towards a tree which can derive its nourishment 
from the scorching sand, the scarcely less burning airs of 
heaven, and the brackish waters beneath the soil, which^are fatal 
to all other kinds of vegetation ; which retains its verdure fresh 
in the glare of a pitiless sun ; which provides him with beams 
and co\eimgs for his tent ; cordage for the harness of his horses 
and mules ; fruit to satisfy his hunger ? What the vine is to 
ae Italian, the cocoanut tree to the Polynesian, the Date 
Palm IS to the Arab. And more— far more. This single tree has 
peopled the desert. Without it the tribes of the Sahara would 
cease to be. The wealth of an oasis is computed bv the number 
01 its date trees. 
having an no pretence of 
sources which were availjOii«» \ collected information from all the 
some time past. The results nf ihicj’pnii? 8*^®^ f'he matter his consideration for 
search of s\im^ary on the compilation he submitted as a guide to those in 
