100 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
of this fly. In Brazil the commercial 
fruit-growing has been at a standstill for 
twenty years due to the activities of this 
insect. You mav form an idea of the de- 
structiveness of this fruit fly, when you 
learn that in Honolulu there are seventy- 
two fruits and vegetables attacked by this 
pest, and their production is possible only 
under cover. The banana and pineapple 
are the only fruits grown on the islands 
that are not subject to attacks by it. For¬ 
tunately for Florida, the fly is not estab¬ 
lished very close to her shores. The Ber¬ 
muda Islands and Brazil are the nearest 
points from which infestation is likely to 
be carried into this State. There is but 
very little communication between these 
two places and Florida. Nevertheless, it 
behooves the people of this State to be on 
guard every minute against this pest. 
At present the pineapple industry of the 
East Coast is making a determined effort 
to regain the ground lost during the past 
few years, and to again bring thousands 
and thousands of dollars into the State 
through the sale of pineapples. It has 
been determined that through proper culti¬ 
vation and a system of rotation, just as 
large crops can be made now as were made 
when the industry was flourishing many 
years ago. To prevent the ruination of 
this budding industry, the Plant Board 
has prohibited the importation of pineap¬ 
ples, fruit and plants from Jamaica, on 
account of the danger of introducing the 
pineapple black weevil, a pest that has 
caused the destruction in some years of 
fifty per cent of the crop in that island. 
The weevil is not known to be present in 
any other part of the West Indies, but you 
may rest assured that just as soon as its 
presence is known on any others of the 
group, a quarantine will be immediately 
slapped on importations of material likely 
to bring in the insect. 
Perhaps the most interesting pest to the 
growers present here tonight is the black 
fly, which has caused quite a bit of dam¬ 
age in Cuba and the Bahama Islands. In 
the latter group, the damage resulting 
from the attacks of this pest has almost 
wiped out the citrus industry on some of 
the islands, particularly New Providence. 
All the citrus trees have been cut down on 
this island in an effort to check the spread 
of the fly. Unfortunately, in addition to 
the citrus, there are almost one hundred 
other hosts attacked including the mango 
and avocado. In Cuba the black fly has 
caused as much, if not more, loss than oc¬ 
casioned in New Providence. Some of 
the groves have not borne a normal crop 
of fruit since the fly first became estab¬ 
lished. The fruit is dry and pithy, with 
no juice at all. Spraying does not seem 
to have any effect on this insect. In the 
Vedado section there is a lemon tree which 
has been sprayed repeatedly for months, 
but the leaves and twigs still show heavy 
infestation. In 1916 the State Plant 
Board sent two men to Cuba to assist in 
the eradication of the fly. The work was 
carried on in true Latin-American style, 
and while at first eradication seemed pos¬ 
sible, the work was carried on in such a 
manner that the infested areas gradually 
increased, until now there is no hope of 
eradication, and, with the way the Cubans 
are letting the work slide, very little ex¬ 
pectation of control. For this reason the 
