SAMOA’S MENAGE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10815, 3 February 1921, Page 6

SAMOA’S MENAGE

RHINOCEROS BEETLE •'NOT BEING GOT UNIiER." SAYS \ EX-INSPECTOR. . - THE PRESENT Reference was made to the rhinoceros beetle by Mr F. C. E. Codd, who was interviewed by a "Times” representative yesterday with regard to Samoan affairs "The people in Samoa,” he stated, "are trying to make out that they ars getting the i'h*iuo?a»erQFus 'under, but I don't believe they are getting it under at all. That was, of course, part of my work over there. I was plantation inspector to the Administration, and beetle-inspector too. The Agricultural Department claims, becatise of the increase of copra last year, the beetle is on the decrease. But the reaeons for the increase of copra last year are— (X) that the people had not had the shipping to get copra away, and hence it had accumulated; (2) that we lost about 10,000 natives in the epidemic, and while there was no searching ..done for the beetle for two or three months, the consumption of ooconuts necessarily fell off owing to the death of so many natives. The native consumption of coconuts per head is enormous. I reckon that they consume about 500 nuts per head a year in the way of food for fowls and pigs, and for themselves; and 10,000 at 500 coconuts per head would mean five millions in all. I don't think that estimate is excessive, because the native consumption of coconuts in Ceylon is far beyond the export of copra and coconuts from the island. I saw that stated in a Ceylon, agricultural paper the other day, and I must say that I was surprised to find it was so. Further, a lot of trees will have come into production now that were not in production, say, a couple of years ago, and that is another reason fd> the increase in copra. A NATURAL ENEMY. "In my opinion the only way to get rid of the rhinoceros beetle is to find a Qatural enemy. Of course the searching is the only thing they can do m the meantime; and there is not a shadow of a doubt that before the epidemic we -had the beetle very nearly in hand. I hold that all hands--men and children, if not the women —should be put on to search for the beetle. At present only men search for it. Apart from the bnetla the plantations would do very well; bnt if the epeonut plantations go back j as I fear they may, for want ot sufficient labour to cope with the beetle, of course they will become breeding places for thei beetle; and if they don’t get ahead .of the beetle and keep it down, it means that the plantations willdisappear and the natives will starve. Thev cannot exist without the coconuts. It has been stated that Samoa is handy for growing cotton and sugar; but I don t •suppose there is an acre of land in Samoa that you could plough It is too eoc.kr; and Wu 1 can't grow sugar or cotton profitably—l have had experience of.both —unless yuh can plough the ground. Hand labour costs too much. Of course you can 'grow good sugar in Samoa. 1 have seen the best of sugar grown there; but not on a commercial scale. I have been in th^West Indies and Peru. I was seven years in Peru growing coffss. cocoa, and rubber, and am a tropical agriculturist.*'