MELON BEETLES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1913, 9 October 1890, Page 6

MELON BEETLES.

As showing what a great benefit to the country it is to have properly qualified scientific men to assist the fruit-growers and farmers, a case that happened not long ago in the United States of America may be given. The owner of an extensive orchard found his trees attacked by leafeating beetles to such an extent as to do very serious damage. He secured some of the beetles and sent them to the Division of Entomology with a request for information. The reply he received was that the beetle had always been known hitherto to subsist on the leaves ot the melon and some native weeds of no value, and that its habit of attacking fruit tree leaves was abnormal, and piobably might not continue. Another letter was received by the diviaion to say that there had always been a large number of melons grown in the orchard uutil this last year, which would account for the presence of the beetle, but that the season being nearly over now, probably they might go elsewhere before the next. The answer to this was simply that if the same damages began again next spring, to let the division know. Accordingly next spring came a telegram, " The bugs are as bad as before," and immediately a professor of entomology and an assistant were sent to investigate matters. They found the beetles certainly on the trees, and these beetles alone, the farmer being fully convinced that they were the cause of the mischief ; but the scientist at once saw that the number of the insect* would not account for the extent of the damage done, and on searching the ground he discovered large quantities of excrement that certainly did not belong to that variety of insect. After waiting till night they went out with a light, and discovered a larger variety of leaf-eating beetle thick on the trees devonring the leaves — a class of beetle thftt hides away in the daytime. The scientist and his assistant, with the firmer and his bands, very soon removed the source of loss from the orchard. Tbe melon beetles died out after a year or two, and did no harm in the meantime. Probably (or rather undoubtedly) the professor received a good salary, but does be not earn it ? Where would be the good of sending an ordinary inspector in such a case ? Probably he might advise a law to be made, under which severe fines might have been inflicted for having a melon beetle in the orchard, but that would not

have helped the orobardiat nor have saved the plums.