Year: 1861

y We copy the following abstract from the
Journal Of the Proceedings Of the Linnsan Society,
London, 1857" As We are getting to be sugar
growing country, it may be interesting to know
that


Mr.. WEsTwooD gave account of the natural
history of the Borer," or caterpillar of moth
which is at the present time doing immense damage
to the sugar-canes in the island of Mauritius. A
committee had been formed in the island, composed
of the chief planters and scientific individuals for
the purpose of investigating the subject, and from
the able report which they had drawn up, it sp-
pears that the insects were in all probability i'm
ported with cargo of new cane plants from the
island of Ceylon several years ago. and that since
that time the damage has been rapidly extending,
and now threatens the entire destruction of the
plantations. The female insect deposits her eggs
in the axis of the young leaves, and the larvae
soon as hatched bore into the stem, forming long
galleries filled with the excrement of the insect,
and which have the effect of bringing the stem into
such a state of disease that crystallzation will
take place, and the plant becomes quite useless
even for making rum. The entire transformations
of the insect are affected in about six weeks,
that there are at least six successive generations in
the course of year. 1t appears that the chrysals
state is passed in q slight cocoon spun amongst
the dead leaves of the plant; and the committee,
after reviewing various proposals suggested for the
destruction of the insect, had come to the cOnclu-
sion that well organized system of burning the
infested canes, as we'll as all loose rubbish and
leaves in the plantation was the only practicable
means of getting rid of the enemy. DR.. UlcOq, an
extensive sugar-cane planter in the island, who
was present at the meeting, confirmed the details
contained in the report, and begged for any sug-
gestions which could be offered by scientific men
in this country for the purpose of remedying the
evil. He had already been in communication with
NJ. Guerin-M -Menevie and other naturalists in Paris.


Several of the members present took part in the
discussion upon the subject, and especially dwelt
on the care necessary in the selection and treat
ment of the cuttings of the cane-tops for future
plantations. The destruction of the eggs and
young Larvae attached to such shoots would be ef-
fected if the latter were kept immersed in damp
burrows, but the nature of the soil of the island
prevented such q process; their immersion in
liquid capable of destroying the insect embryo with
out hurting the plant was also insisted upon; as
well the placing of the cuttings for time in a
close atmosphere saturated with the fumes of prus-
sic acid arising from bruised laurelleayes, which
would certainly destroy the insect.


From the account given of this Niauritian borer.
it appears identical with the borer of the West In
dian plantations described by Fabricus under the
name of PhaLend saccharalis, and by the Rev. l..
Guiding under that of Diatrea sacchari in a me-
moir published in the Transactions of the Society
of Arts, for which he received the Gold Ceres
Medal from the Society.