SMALL BIRDS V. CATERPILLARS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 721, 7 March 1866, Page 5

SMALL BIRDS V. CATERPILLARS.

To the Kditor of tho New Zealand Hehai,t>. Sin, —Reverting to the subject of wheat-growing' in this province, I will, with your permission, make a? few remarks upon your leading a tide of tho 20th ultimo, fully agreeing witU jou "tlint great events from trivial things ari-e." I must, however, taks exception to the statement that " had these sparrows' which Mr. Brodie sent from home some years sinco reached Auckland alive, tliou.-anda upon thousands of acres would have linen in cultivation that have not yet known tlio plough." No, sir, the truth is it was another kind of brown crawler. . . . Prophesy being- fulfilled, does any person doubt for one moment that had we the lands in possession,which I am happy to think tvg are likely to have v opoued up shoitly for European settlement, viz., Wuibato, Taarang.l, Thame", Bay of Plenty, and Poverty Bay districts, at tlmt timo, would wo at this moment be sending to California and elsewhere for wheat ? Most teHai-ly not. Wu would now bs exporting in lieu of importing, despite the caterpillar pest. Xdo not do>piaa this past, for I have suffered for years from them in my small way. I have hud oats and Cape tarley, both grown for sale and home use as green fodder, eaten to the very roots in three days from their fjrafc appearance. This made myself and others try sorgum and mAize, a 9 being u stronger plaut, wirli joints through which they cannot eat out the kernel of the plant, although completely denuding it of its outride leaves, and soiling tho plant *o much that caftio do not like to eat it unless washed by heavy rune. When this takes place, about the Ist March, tliey absquatulate, slide, or crawl nobody knows where, and tho plaut. if not too old* throws out a second crown or succession of leayes, which repays for the outlay.

I think -.villi vou thrift when 011oe alackor l . (here is no rlive fr\r the evil, but I am strongly -t opinion that the funnev can so regulate 1113 wheat aud root ill mor-fc soils and that he will have gathered in his grain, and th it tlie haulm of his potato crop will ho so line flint when the caterpillar does make it-i nppr-arance, which M within a week or Im-o of th'? sun.' date each year, say between the 20th January and the l*-t February. it cannot do mucli iitjurv to thoso crops which mar be' considcrfi the staple ones. f-'o that in most seasons it will be the farmer's n< Vn f-iilr, when he lias labour at command and his soil fit f--r growing early crops, if he is caught by the catfcrpillai', and to thofo who may have heavysoil's wit.h a cold aspect, I would havfi them study to net early sorts of grain and potatoes. I liad a field of onts, an : one of my ni-itiV-O'.ir- h id Feme 40 acres of wheat gather d in by the 2Dth January, and neither of us lost a blade by caterpillar this year. Not so with maize : I had t acres looking very promising, indeed upon the 2 >d February, two acres of which I sold npon that dale ; in a few days more ilian half this pa'eh was completely Btnpped i.y th * black caterpillar, with a brown horny nose forme :1 like A c illipers, with which, of a still night, you cnuld di-tincrly hear them cutting the green-sluffinto chaff. The remaining t«'o acres being too ynmii to sell at the time, X decided uron running the risk of the first growth of leaves being stripped of!', knowing thit about the first of March t'.ey would disappear, and that it would he young enough then to throw out a succession"; and to show how partial thoy are in their onslaught on crops, thoy bog in on the side next a grass road, and where tlio turkeys and fowls of one of my neighbours wore always running, some of which spent their days in (hat part where thev first put iu an appearance. They went right through half the four acros to a path which divided the early from the la'e, and there they stopped. Whether it was that the maize on the other side being only nine or ten iuches hi"h, and of .New Zealand seed not possessing, perhaps, so much saccharine as the Sydney on their own, or whether it was that the narrow-beaten pathway intervened, is worthy of attention and enquiry. 1 remember seeing eom3 time sinco in one of the Auckland journals the letter of a correspondent advocatiui? a trench being dug across their line of march which, as they keep in pretty good line, may easily he done, and I noticed lately th'tt where a spadeful of earth was taken, leaving a shallow hole of not move than four incbea deep, that the caterpillars coming upon this hollow, got in and could not get out again, the earth bnng very firm and dry gave way under them, forming a regular trap. Certain it is that they are' a drawback to the fanners growing crops for autumn feed, for dairy cattle, or for salo ill town at a tiiuo of year when it is in good demand. Iny per.'on who would aid in ridding us af this pest, either by the introduction :,f small birds or lariie, encouraging the increase of pheasants, which I believe in, or in the discovery of lime-stone in such quantities that, the application wi l not be too costly, will ho conferring a veiy great benefit upon the agriculturists of New Zetland generally. It is a question I am not able to decide which bird i v belt ablo to rid ua of the caterpillar. I very much doubt the capacity of sparrows in any number to effect that object, unless they, with the maDy other kinds of

insect-destroying birds, get lit the ova, which, T think, must bo deposited, iu g';d fences, or in the craoks ia the earth during the autumn. There are many of the Knglnli birds, now at liberty, and increasing fast in Victoria. The trueli is to be seen and beard ill and about the Government Gardens in Melbourne, warbling forth those pleasing note which carry us in thought back to our hoyish days and the shady proves of our nncestorfl in the old country. Xt is a bird that I would very much like to see largely introduced, being strong enough to turn over a large clod, as I fcavo often seen them do, and rake up a worm or clod as long as my finger, as a breakfast or luuoh for the young family in the neighbouring furze-hedge. B. Beamish. ♦ To tho Editor of the New Zjawks Herald. g IB| In your report of Mr. O'fiorke's speech, at the Onehunga meeting, on Saturday lßsl, I read as follows " A Bhor*; time ago, when the Onehunga Board Hill was spoken of as being likely to he reintr. duced this session, he (Mr. O'-Rorke) thought it right at i nee to ascertain from the Provincial Secretary what the views of tbo> Government were on the subject, and he accordingly asked Mr. Carleton whether it was intended to vest any portion, of those endowments in tho Board proposed to be established for tho management of the town. The answer he receiv. 1 was, certainly not. Now, although Mr. Carle;, i has the reputation of being eccentric in some of hi* ■ ows, he did not think this meeting would ba I,r-' . by surprise at the reasons which that gentlen: assigned for not intrusting the iiihabitanis of this i ' i with the management of the endowments that ! v. at their very doors. Mr. Carleton cut the matter • ery short by saying the endowments at Onehunga belong to Auckland." This is a misrepresentation ; I fear an unexcusable one not being able to persuade myself that any one could think me likely to eay anything so foolish. But I luivo sail roneatodlv, that. " the Mriuukuu Harbour endowments belong to Auckland, <r.i the Auckland. Harbour endowments belong to Onehmtga that " the interest of the two towns are identical, and that so far (he two towns must practically bo treated as one, more especially sinco the formation of the railway." Tho City of Auckland is hot " entrusted with the management" of the Auckland Harbour endowments, nor can tho town of Onehunga complain if not " entrusted with the management" of the Manukau endowments. HrGH Casletok. Parnell, Gth March.