The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-12-23
CANE BORERS IN
BRITISH MUSEUM
DR.. R. c. L. Perkins Spent Two
Months There and at
Cambridge.

DR.. r. C. L. Perkins, who is at the
head of the department of entomology
at the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Ex-
pertinent station, returned by the Ko-
rea from an absence of about seven
months, mostly spent in England.
1T was seven years since / had
been in England, +" said DR.. Perkins yes
terday, "but outside of London I no.
ticed no striking changes. In London
the entire intramural, traffic is revo1u-
tionized. The time-honored omnibus has
given way to the motive power bus.
The underground railway has been
and coal dust which used to make the
air so unpleasant is entirely done away
with. And there is now the new sys-
TEN of underground electric ways call
ed the steel tube system.
81 spent two months and a half in
study in the natural history museums at
the University of Cambridge and the
British museum. I was studying par
ticularly the cane borer, trying to find
out among other things its natural
habitat or place of origin, as that is
one of the problems we have here in
our search for it's natural enemies
While I did not find that exact thing
I found much that throws light on it
and will doubtless prove of very great
value ] found MANY varieties of cane
borers and much literature ON the sub
ject.
"While was at Cambridge a con-
gress of biologists was being held in
Boston, and most of the natural history
professors and instructors We're there,
so did not see much of the University
life. However, I do not regret that,
for it gave me, opportunity to pursue
my studies with out interruption.
sit is a satisfaction to study in
places like the natural history museum
of Cambridge or of the British museum.
They have such complete libraries and
collections Everything that has been
published on entomology is there, and
there are collections from all parts of
the world that have been gathered by
the industry of collectors and natural
lists for years. In many directions of
study, one can accomplish there IN a
few weeks what it would take years
to do here, because here one is in
such large degree cropping in the dark,
without the complete libraries and col
lections.
that happened while was in Cambridge
was the world s congress of Esperanto.
There were about thirty different ma
represented from all over
the world, and great numbers of them. |
They were all enthusiasts too. Every |
where in the streets you could see Rus
slams talking to English and Hungari-
ans talking to Swedes. The language |
certainly is simple. There are no r.
regular forms. All verbs have the same |
kind of an ending and nouns another
h4Hus ACO ICdl'S oAN nv
eies of grammar or idiom to learn, and
learning the language is little more than
learning vocabulary, and even in this
there are aids and helps in every Ian
guage. For a talking language I think
it might prove quite convenient; but
[ can not see that it can ever become
a useful written language.
"FThe time I did not spend in study,
| spent fishing. I went everywhere in
England. Next to New Zealand the
finest trout fishing in the world is found
in England 1t is the result of stock
ing the streams with good varieties,
and care in propagating them. In New
Zealand it is an entirely foreign crea
ton. Originally, there were no trout in
New Zealand. But they have been i'm
ported and now the finest trout fish
ing in the world is there. Trout weigh
ing twenty pounds are not unusual.
Crossing the continent the wealth
er was very bad. It was showing and
cold in New York and Chicago, and
bad weather continued until just the
other side of Sacramento