456 
ST. Vincent’s. 
St. Vincent, from improved cultivation, the animal 
is not very formidable ; but in some other of our 
colonies, which, from the absence of mountains, 
or other causes, are subject to dry seasons, it has 
been known to blast the hopes of the year, to de- 
stroy whole acres of canes, and to ruin the unfortu- 
nate planter.” The Diatrcsa sacchari is a small 
sized straw-coloured moth, with upper wings of a 
tint best described as an ochry-drab, varied with 
darkened lines and margined dots. The under 
wings are pale yellow. The caterpillar is of a yel- 
lowish colour, spotted with faint black dots, and in a 
slight degree hairy. This Borer-moth is indigenous 
to Jamaica, or at least is now ordinarily known to 
infest the Sugar-cane. 
The late Mr. Stephen Hannaford of St. Doro- 
thy,” observes Mr. Hill, ‘Mn a communication to me 
respecting this pest, so well known on this side of 
the island, wrote me that ‘ the system of trashing 
and of keeping the canes clean is the best and surest 
method, as well to prevent the depredations of the 
Borer, as to improve the juices. In seasonable dis- 
tricts, where this system can be fully carried out, the 
mischievous effects of the Borer seem to betray a 
want of proper attention on the part of the manager 
to his field. But in districts subjected to long spells 
of drought, the utmost caution is necessary. It is 
generally observed that the Borer commits the great- 
est injury to the cane after a rapid growth, which is 
followed by a spell of dry weather, whilst vegetation 
seems not only suspended, but the plant itself strug- 
gling for life. In this dilemma the planter chooses 
