The Akaroa Mail FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1897. THE CODLIN MOTH.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume XXIV, Issue 2130, 26 February 1897, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1897. THE CODLIN MOTH.

The people in Lyttelton were altogether in the right in trying to prevent applee from north infected with the codlin moth from being landed in Lyttelton, and it is a great matter of regret that the law was not on their side ;. but they were altogether wronjj in supposing that the codlin moth was not established in Canterbury. *

About the year 1884, the late Mr Stephen Watkins showed the writer a number , of apples perforated with a maggot aud the cores eaten, tnd there is not the elighest doubt that the maggot in question was the caterpillar of the codlin moth. The infected orchard is one at the back of Jolie Street, now in the posession of Mr Narbey, and at the time we speak of was very prolific, Mr Watkins exporting large quantities of fruit to Dunodin and elsewhere. For the packing of this fruit Mr Watkins used to import cheap cases from Hobp.rt made of the Taemauian paling", and it was doubtless by means of these cases that the codlin moth wee first introduced into Akaroa about thirteen yeure ago. >ince then it has been gradually spread- , ing, and seemed to roach its maximum in 189&, when it was only orchards in comparatively secluded positions that escaped the pest. In most orchards in fact the apples were totally destroyed, the whole of the, riddled fruis, lying in heaps under the trees at the end of January or beginning of February. The pears held on to the trees better, but on being ficlced were.mpst of them found to have equally 6nfferod from this terrible pest.

The original theory was that the moth laid its egg at the head of the apple soon after flowering, and the egg hatched/and the grub matured as the apple grew; but if that was its. habit in the past, it has found out a simpler method now, and in nine cases out of ten lays its eggs on the surface of the apple wherever convenient at any stage of its growth. Looking at a badly infected tree one can see little black holes in the eile of nearly every apple, showing where the caterpillar is working its way in, or has already succeeded in doing so.

This season there is undoubtedly a certain natural abatement of the pest. The extreme dryness of the early summer \*as we presume unfavourable to the grubs' development, hot in any case in many places where no attempt to clean the trees was made .the~sest is not so bad as in 1896. Tiiis, however, is probably odlv a temporary check, and next year we shall have a tale to tell of worse destruction than ever.

We look forward with much interest to the result of experiments that are being made for eradicating the pest. Mr Potts has certainly had wonderiul success with bis method, which appears to consist in applying some suVwtance to the frnit, which is repugnant to the moth and fatal to the grub. The result of remedy, as we can testify by our own eyes, has been most successful. Whoa we saw his orchard in 1895 and 1896 there was hardly a single apple saved ; this year there is a very fair crop, and no doubt this is due to the remedy. What that remedy is we have still to learn, and the drawback seems to be that constant application to each froit is needed to make certain of the destruction of the pest* The expert, Mr Blackmore, when last here gave lessons on his system in Mr Vangioni's orchard, which consists of catching the grubs in bandages as they climb the trees, aud'eo destroying them. Mr Vangioni informs us that he believes the result will be most success-

ful, that the caterpillars are being caugh< nnd destroyed in immense numbers, aji \ that he considers hie trees will be praeticallj free next sen Ron.

There ie.no doubt, however, that the peat can never be Ih -routjlily stamped oat without nil who have orchards helping in tho work of destruction. It is useless to expect the extinction of the moth so lonjr as numerous breeding places are kept which ensure its annual production.

A meeting of fruii-erpwers .was held iv Christ church on Wednesday evening to coneider the best means of preyentinji the spread of the JpeSt in Canterbury;It was pointed out that there wae a fata ,, defect in the Bill of last session, as it only provided for excluding!infected fruit from o.ut«ide. the colon , , there being no jaw to prevent its being sent from Auckland, Nelson, or Akaroa. It was decided to ask Ohristchurch firms to cease importing fruit from infected districtP, and also to ask the firms who exported the fruit to desist from' sending it. Iv the meantime, it is intended to try and get a Bill passed next session i that will giro the necessary power to take all necessary steps to stop the progress of this intolerable pest, ,