The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-06-21

If the peoole started out with the ide
of exterminating the Mediterranean
fruit fly, they would first of all hav,
to find out its food. 1t attacked al
sorts of fruits. If an attempt wer,
made to exterminate all the guavas OF
the island it would take millions O
dollars. Would you include pineap
pies to start with? he asked. It might
get into bananas, or pomegranates
He had no reason to suspect that II
would not turn to those fruits that II
had not yet touched, when those that
it had infected had been removed
They must never expect to extermin.
ate the Mediterranean fly absolutely
and this will mean that the quaran.
tine will be on the fruits as long as
the pes. is here. There are pests Just
as 5crious as the fruit fv, EXCEPT for
Gle quarantine To keep ii under con-
troll IS a very different thing to get.
tiEg absolutely free frC;n it. While
there was tha barest possibility that
we could be free from it with fearful
destruction, yet he, for one, would
much doubt it, and if they could not
after spending millions, they would get
a horrible ha ha for it. If they did ex-
terminate it, how long would they be
free from it?
1t might get into the dates that we
have here. Shall we destroy all the
dates Shall we destroy all the fruits
we have, and then find that the mis-
cradle little thing is breeding in some
berry that is suitable for it? Until
they were sure what it would and
would not breed in, he thought they
were going at the matter very blindly.
If a government campaign were car
ried on, there might follow all sorts
of legal suits and all sorts of block
AIDES to a proposition of that sort. He
had no recollection of any such pest
ever having been eradicated. He
agreed with the idea that each person
should destroy all the infected fruit
found on his or her premises. In this
way the larvae would be destroyed.
Byron o. Clark agreed with the pre-
vious speaker.
A Reply by Higgins.
Higgins wished to reply to the two
previous speakers. He said that he
was radical. He considered that they
should aim at nothing less than the
eradication of the pest. He asked, did
they realize that the pest was a men,
ace to the whole fruit-growing indus
try, not only of the islands, but of the
mainland as well? 1t would be but a
few months before this insect will get
to the other islands, and he said this
Notwithstanding that he had the ut
most confidence in the methods of in
spection in force. 1t would go in the
pockets of passengers and in other
ways that would escape the inspectors.
1t will the be only few years before
it will get to the mainland. With a
rigid system of inspection, and only
one steamer a month from Australia,
the pest had been introduced. There
were probably three steamers a week
to the Coast, and this number was in
creasing so rapidly that within a few
years there might be a daily service.
Then there were sailing vessels that
required no longer than the steamers
from Australia, and, therefore, it must
be supposed that it would not be very
long before the insect is established
in California, Washington and Oregon.
Once on the mainland, it will travel,
and it will be impossible to destroy