THE FRUIT FLY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12212, 6 March 1903, Page 6

THE FRUIT FLY.

[BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington, Thursday. Some controversy has taken place in Auckland lately as to whether imported fruit, found to be infected with the Queensland or Mediterranean fruit flies, should be immediately condemned, or whether sorting should be permitted. That there is danger, however, in any delay, such as must occur whilst the fruit is being sorted in this way, is proved by an experiment just conducted by the Department of Agriculture. Some fruit from Sydney, condemned on February, 12. was placed in a breeding cage, and from this infected fruit many dozens of fruit flies have emerged to deposit eggs in turn on fresh fruit placed in the cage. As this fly attacks for preference all kinds of stone fruits peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums, and so on, the necessity for stringent measures to keep the pest out of the colony is self-evi-dent. The impression has gained ground amongst Auckland growers that the fruit fly will not breed in New Zealand, but as specimens have been hatched in the breeding cages in Wellington by the Department of Agriculture every year since 1898, this impression is evidently erroneous.