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and in its germinating power, and occurs abundantly in all varieties of cotton throughout India.

Many other insects live on the cotton plant, occasionally or habitually, but these are not included, as they are not known to affect the crop perceptibly. The pests of this crop have been studied carefully in the cotton-growing areas of India but not in Burma, where there are possibly other pests.

Insect Pests of Apple in India.

The only known pest of apple in India is the woolly aphis (Schizoneura lanigera, Hausm.). This is known to occur in Kumaon and in the Nilgiri Hills, and it has been very destructive and is now threatening the industry in the Himalayas. The apple will grow only in the hills at an elevation with a temperate climate and is only cultivated on a comparatively small scale. It has other pests, some probably indigenous and peculiar to India, but these have not as yet been studied.

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No. 97.

BARBADOS.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE,

(Received September 19, 1911.)

[Answered by No. 109.]

(No. 156.) SIR,

Government House, 30th August, 1911. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch "Miscella- neous," of the 22nd of March last,* enclosing papers showing the nature of the work which is being carried on by the African Entomological Research Committee and asking me to consider whether co-operation with the Committee by this Colony is desirable, and, if so, what would be the best means of effecting it.

&

2. I have also the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch "Miscellaneous," of the 5th of April last,† enclosing copies of a Press notice on the Committee's work, a speech delivered by the Earl of Cromer at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, and the inaugural lecture by Mr. N. Maxwell Lefroy, F.R.S., at the same institution on the subject.

3. I referred the matter to a Committee composed of the Honourable Sir F. J. Clarke, K.C.M.G., as Chairman, Dr. John Hutson, Poor Law Inspector, Dr. E. H. Bannister, Senior Visiting Surgeon of the General Hospital, Dr. J. E. Bridger, the Port Health Officer, Mr. J. R. Bovell, the Superintendent of Agriculture, and Mr. R. A. Stoute, the Government Veterinary Surgeon, for their consideration, and I now have the honour to enclose six copies of their report on the subject.

4. As a result of that Report, the Legislature were asked to pass a resolution granting a sum of fifty pounds to meet the cost of co-operation in this respect for the remaining six months of the year. The Legislature have passed the resolution, and a copy of it is enclosed.

5. In this connection I have the honour to suggest that I may be advised—

(a) As to whether the proposals of the Committee for co-operation in the work carried on by the African Entomological Research Committee require any modification or amendment.

(b) As to the best system of preparing and forwarding specimens.

(c) As to the address to which the specimens should be sent; and

(d) As to the channel of communication between the Barbados Committee

and the Committee in England.

6. It will be noticed that the Committee propose collecting specimens of insects generally, but more especially those attacking economic crops and those which are likely to be disease-carriers; and the work in Barbados would be much assisted by

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information which would tend to concentrate the local investigation and work upon such insects as are regarded as needing special study.

Enclosure 1 in No. 97.

REPORT.

I have, &c.,

L. PROBYN,

Governor

The Committee appointed to consider the desirability of co-operating in the work that is being carried on by the African Entomological Research Committee met in the Council Chamber, Public Buildings, on Tuesday, May 30, when the following members were present :-

Hon. F. J. Clarke, B.A., C.M.G., M.C.P., Chairman; Messrs. John Hutson, M.B., C.M., D.P.H.; E. H. Bannister, M.B., C.M.; J. F. E. Bridger, M.B. London, D.P.H.; J. R. Bovell, I.S.O., F.L.S., F.C.S.; and R. A. Stoute, D.V.S. The clerk was, at your request, supplied by Mr. J. R. Bovell.

The Committee, after duly considering the importance of obtaining a knowledge of the life history of insects causing disease in animals, including man, and plants, were unanimously of the opinion,

(a) That on account of the occurrence in Barbados of insect-borne diseases like filariasis and yellow fever, and of other diseases which are probably spread through the agency of insects, such as leprosy, pellagra, dengue, and certain unclassified non-malarial fevers lasting from two to five days That on account of the prevalence of typhoid fever and epidemic diarrhoea, which are to some extent spread mechanically by flies: That as bubonic plague is at present in a neighbouring colony it is desirable to ascertain whether the flea, Pulex cheopis, the chief carrier of bubonic plague in India, exists in Barbados-every flea is not a plague carrier. not even every rat flea: That in view of the fact that at the present time it is only possible to grow certain economic crops profitably in some countries with the aid of parasites which keep the insect pests under control: It is desirable in the best interests of the inhabitants of the Island that Barbados should co-operate in the investigations that are being carried out by the African Entomological Research Committee: Because during the investigations into the life history of the insects from Barbados it is probable that in time it will be ascertained what insect in Barbados, for instance, conveys pellagra-- recently it has been discovered that a species of sand-fly, one of the Simulium, conveys this disease in Italy: Also because in the event at any time of some introduced insect pest, which is parasitised in its native country, attacking an economic crop in Barbados it would pro- bably be possible, through the knowledge gained by the co-operation with the African Entomological Research Committee, to obtain the parasite which keeps such insect pests in check.

(b) That in the event of the Governor-in-Executive Committee deciding to co-operate with the African Entomological Research Committee, the Committee beg to recommend to His Excellency the desirability of appointing a permanent committee for making a collection of the Barbados insects in duplicate, one set of which, together with any notes as to their life-history, &c., that may have been obtained, should be sent to the African Entomological Research Committee, who should be asked to furnish the Committee with the names of the insects sent them; and the other set kept at the Department of Agriculture, where there is already a partial collection of the insects in Barbados. (c) That in the event of the Governor-in-Executive Committee approving of these recommendations, the Legislature be asked to provide a sufficient sum to cover the cost of the necessary bottles, tubes, preserving liquids, specimen hoxes, &c., required for sending the specimens to England and for preserving the duplicate set, and to pay someone to take the minutes of the meetings and to generally care the collection. For this

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