219 
AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY IN HAWAII. 
The Report of the Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and 
Forestry of Hawaii for 1910 shows a record of much important work 
done during the year. In Forestry much has been done in planting, 
and the photographs showing the growth of Eucalyptus, evidently a 
suitable tree for the island, leave nothing to be desired. The area 
recommended to be reserved for forest is_ 575,154. acres and that 
already reserved is 386,547 acres. Besides this, there is a considerable 
area of privately owned forest. A valuable address on the part plac- 
ed by the Forest in Conservation by Mr. Ralph S. Hasmer is 
printed, urging the importance of protection, especially from the point 
of view of the water supply and protection from erosion. He is strong 
on the point that every plantation company which has waste land 
should plant up definite areas with forest trees quite as regularly as 
it harvests its cane, and it ought also to fence off and protect the native 
forests from which it derives its Water. The Entomological division 
is a very important one in Hawaii, and the precautions against the 
introduction of exotic insects are perhaps more elaborate here tha 
anywhere else. It is probably easier to prevent the landing of in- 
jurious insects in Hawaii than in most countries, as a check can be 
kept to a large extent by supervision of imported fruits and p ants 
the Mediterranean fruit-fly, however, has in spite of all precaution 
effected a landing, and settled down in one of these islands. It is really 
practically impossible to prevent the invasion of exotic insects n o 
any country. A ship may come to the harbour bringing say, fru t, 
and not land a single fruit, yet the fruit-fly may easily leave the ship 
and land. Again many insects can fly very great distance.. Wei e it 
not so distant; islands like Hawaii would have no indigenous insects. 
It seems almost hopeless to prevent some pests from landing any- 
where, but the authorities are taking the utmost care to check the 
importation of infected vegetable produce. It does seem, however, 
carrying matters a little too far when five poisonous snakes b«' on g- 
in , to a showman were refused a landing and carefully destroyed It 
was hardly likely that the showman would let a breedl "® pa ‘ r ° 
snakes escape, and certainly in this part of the world we find the d- n 
gets of our poisonous snakes enormously exaggerated, while their use 
fn destroying rats and other vermin is much in their favour. Besides 
however, the work of keeping out injurious insects the Entomological 
department has spent much time and work in introducing enemies of 
the pests in the form of parasites, and also fag msects without the 
aid of which first class figs cannot be obtained. This latter introduc- 
tion has proved a great success. Insectivorous-birds, too, are to tie 
introduced to keep in check the insect pests. The introduction of 
parasites on pests is a most important work especially in a country 
so isolated as Hawaii. In countries connected with an extensive 
hinterland area, or not too far from a mainland, the matter usually 
soon settles itself. An insect or troublesome weed invades a country 
ancTsoon becomes too abundant when it ^ 
abundant a parasite turns up, or is evolved, and the pest gets a check 
