1 44 
Item. Duty. 
When the price is below # f 9 per f 
pikul ... ■ • •• L 
When $19. per pikul up to ^21 f r ^ er cent ad valorem . 
(inclusive) ... •*• L 
When above $2 i 
„ » 23 
$23 
25 
„ „ 25 „ 2 i „ >> 
The duty on Parchment Coffee is calculated on two thirds of the 
cross weight, and on Dry Cherry on one third of the gross weight. 
Insect Pests— W hite Ants {Termes gestroi ).—' The ravages 
of this pest have been perceptibly less since it has come to be re- 
cognised that a disturbance of the soil round the area of attack, 
and the destruction of the jungle wood on the ground in which 
they breed, notably nibong stumps and trunks, do more to disor- 
ganise their operations than any other treatment. The percentage 
of affected trees which actually die. is now comparatively smalt, 
at any rate on alluviaJ land. On the hills it is of course more 
difficult to get at the ants on account of the depth to which they 
cro ) but even there, no more satisfactory remedy than continual 
disturbance wherever they make their appearance, has yet been 
discovered. . , 
The Bee Ha\«k Moth.— T he caterpillars of this species have, 
durino- the past year, caused a great deal of anxiety to owners ot 
coffee^ estates in the Klang district. It has only been by the most 
sustained effort and the expenditure of wry large sums of money, 
that their ravages have been kept within bounds. A feature ot the 
attack, has been its persistent recrudescence in spite of the ap- 
parent completeness of the measures taken for its suppression. A 
small batch of Ceylon crows were imported by the Government at 
vour Chairman's suggestion, in the hope that these useful mr 
would settle in the country, and perhaps help, in course ot time, 
to keep the caterpillar pest down. The experiment has so tar 
proved a success in that the birds readily devoured the caterpillars 
when supplied to them whilst in captivity, and have not since their 
release deserted the locality. It yet remains to be seen, however, 
if they will breed. . , , , . , , 
Coconut Beetles. — “The staff which 1 hope shortly to have 
«at my disposal will, I believe, prove sufficient to carry out the 
a necessary measures for the protection of coconut trees, and 1 trust 
“that before long the disastrous effects caused by the present 
“ ravages of the beetles, may be minimised as much as possible^ 
The above is a verbatim extract from a letter addressed by the 
Federal Inspector of Coconut Trees to your Association, when hrst 
he entered upon the duties of his appointment, and your Committee 
have oreat pleasure in testifying to the excellence and already far 
reaching effects of the measures that have been taken for the sup- 
pression of the beetle pest. It does not seem too much to hope 
that within the very near future a serious danger to an important 
industry will have been averted by the ready and liberal assistance 
extended by the Government at a most critical juncture. 
