162 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. -[1 Fes., 1898. 
Another Remedy. 
Professor F. W. Cabanis, Assistant Director of Agriculture, Burma, writing 
on the destruction of the black weevil, says:—I have been trying for several 
years a number of experiments with the object of finding a cheap and simple 
method of preventing the ravages of this weevil. I think that I have found it 
in the use of naphthalene powder. . . . . It is best to place the 
naphthalene at the bottom of the bin or bulk of grain. To accomplish this, 
take a bamboo about 14 inches in diameter and long enough to reach from the 
top to the bottom of the bulk of grain. Punch the joints out of the bamboo, 
so as to be able to pass a stick through from one end to the other. Have the 
stick made to fit the cavity in the bamboo. Pass the bamboo with the stick in 
it down through the bulk of grain from the top to the bottom. Withdraw the 
stick, and drop into the top of the bamboo about half-a-teaspoonful of naphtha- 
lene powder. The bamboo can then be drawn out, as the naphthalene is safe at 
the botiom of the bulk of grain. If the bulks are large, this should be done 
once to every 10 feet square of the bulk. Repeat the application every fifteen 
or twenty days, as the powder evaporates. The weevil that can leave the grain 
will do so, and those that cannot leave are killed by the odour of the naphtha- 
lene. Ido not believe that naphthalene thus used can cause any injury whatever 
to the grain. For seed purposes the germinating powers appear not to be 
affected in the least. or marketable grain the colour is not affected, and the 
odour will leave in a short time if fresh naphthalene is not applied to it. The 
quantity of powder used is infinitely small in proportion to the quantity of 
grain, and the powder is entirely destroyed by evaporation, so that for trod 
purposes the effect is nil. Naphthalene powder is worth about 3s. per oz.— 
Tropical Agriculturist. 
INFLUENCE OF THE MOON. 
Iv an article on “ Forestry,’ by D. E. Hutchins, 7.R.M.S., in the Agricultural 
Journal of the Cape of Good Hope (11th November), Mr. Vederman, missionary 
of Genadendal, is reported as stating that the practice there is to cut cluster- 
pines all the year round, but always when the moon is down. On this point 
Mr. Vederman is emphatic, and says that he has amply proved by experience 
that wood felled when the noon is down is better to work, lasts better, and is 
less liable to get worm-eaten. We must still profess scepticism on the belief 
in the moon’s influence. How far some enthusiasts will carry their pet theory 
is evidenced by an article in the Australian Field by Agar Zaricl—a nom de 
plume apparently. This writer gives advice for November agricultural opera- 
tions, most of which is solid sense, and which could be taken with advantage ; 
but we fail to see why planting on the 3rd of the month should only be earried 
on from 3 to 4 p.m., and on the 4th and 5th from 5°30 to 7°15 a.m., 9°15 to 11 
a.m., 1 to 3 p.m., and 5°15 to 6 p.m. Nor do we think that a busy farmer 
would till, weed, and harvest on only the 16th and 17th of the month, on the 
ground that the month is weak in special days for these operations, and that 
consequently only the last quarter ot the moon—i.e., during the week before 
new moon—may be utilised. So far as we know, the only influence exerted 
by the moon on this planet is on the great waters, which are attracted by her, 
and rise immediately beneath her in the form of a high tide, which follows the 
moon in its course round the world. We are informed that many German 
farmers will not sow annuals, beans, peas, carrots, &c., &c., on a waning moon. 
They assert that if seeds are sown at new moon, up to full moon, the resulting 
crops are greatly increased. This would be very easy to prove, and we shall be 
glad to hear of the result of any experiments in this direction. 
NITRAGIN. 
Tuer London Standard says:—There is a little too much haste in some 
quarters to condemn “ nitragin,” the German preparation of nitrogen-accumu- 
lating organisms for leguminous crops, as useless because no benefit has been 
