The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-09-30

culture and Forestry met at the Ex-
! periment Station yesterday afternoon.
After the reading of the minutes of the
previous meeting, President Thurston
reported that the work on the map of
the proposed Hilo forest reserve was in
4 an advanced stage of completion and
that the map might arrive on the Kinau
Saturday.
/ Superintendent of Forestry Hosmer
reported his movements from August
18th to September 2sth. During that
period he looked over the Kona reserve,
| made reconnaissance of the mauka
| boundary of the proposed Hilo reserve
/ and made a tour of Maui with Governor
| Carter. He has also supervised the
work at the experiment stations and
has prepared and forwarded to the De-
partment of Agriculture at Washington
mailing list of people to whom gov
eminent publications are to be sent.
| Attached to the Superintendent re-
port were the weekly reports of work
done at the King street and Nuuanu
stations. The report was received and
placed on file. It was announced that
the jars for the fruit exhibit had ar
rived and that the exhibit would be in
stalled in the near future.
~ ov-o1
relative to the prosecution of A. F.
Cooke for the destruction of govern
ment trees by the fire which started on
his land at Palolo was read. He ex-
possible to prosecute under section 200
of the Penal Laws which relates to
malicious injury. but that under the
peculiar circumstances of this particu-
be possible to. secure a conviction al
though the law covers injuries caused
by carelessness as well as malicious
ones 1t was therefore decided to drop
the matter. Mr.. Hosmer stated that
he would be ready to report in full on
the proposed Hanalei forest reserve at
the next session of the board.
The report of Alexander Craw. Super
intendent of Entomology, was then
read as follows:
Division of Entomology.
Honolulu, T. H., Sept %, 1904.
To the Honorable Board of Commits
sioners of Agriculture and Forestry,
Honolulu, T. H.
Gentlemen: The question of the adj
visibility of your Board drafting regu-
lations to prevent the Introduction into
the Territory of the serious fruit-1y
pests that are known to exist in China,
Japan, Eastern Pacific ports and other
countries, was submitted to me at your
last meeting and in reply 1 beg to re-
port.
While it may appear arbitrary, the
total exclusion of fruits from the above
countries is unquestionab1y the safest
way to prevent the introduction of such
pests into the Hawaiian Islands.
Under Act A of the Territory of Ha-
waii, your Board has ample power to
make rules and regulations covering
this most important question.
Fruit-fiies belong to the Dipterous
order of insects and are amongst the
most prolific and rapid breeders and the
most disgusting pests that horticultur-
lists and agriculturists have to contend
against in countries where they have
gained a foothold Take for instance,
the introduced pelon-cucumher fly that
has completely put 81 stop for several
years past to the cultivation, or rather
production, of muskrnelons on these
Islands.
In Queensland and Western Austria
liza they can hardly raise fruit on ac-
count of fruit-fiies. In Cape Colony
South Africa, fruit trees have to be
covered with mosquito bar netting to
protect the fruit from such flies. This
makes the cultivation of fruit an expen-
sive business, even with the Govern
ment purchasing the netting as they do
in Cape Colony, selling it to the or
chardists at actual cost. From the
above facts, it Will be seen that the
most drastic measures you may take to
guard against such pests viii be none
too severe.
1 desire to lay before you the advis-
ability of drawing up regulations COW
ering the importation and disinfection
or fumigation, if deemed necessary, of
trees or plants in inter-island traffic.
My attention has recently been called
to this by the introduction of the
''Olinda beetles (Aramigus fu11er) into
Oahu from Maui, where it was unfor-
tunately introduced from the mainland,
a few years ago, as L have been in
formed. This beetle is a serious pest,
cutting the leaves of trees and plants
much in the same manner as the Jap
anese beetle (Adoretus umbrosus) and
in the larvae form, it is more destruc-
tive, as it burrows into the roots of
various fruits and plants, causing the
death of the same. Lemon and orange
trees are especially subject to their at
tack and would be a check to the pro-
fitable production of those fruits, should
their cultivation be undertaken in
practical manner on these islands. Il
fear that it will now be a difficult task
to check this pest and it could have