Naturalist.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 426, 16 June 1904, Page 2

Naturalist.

THE C RIMES OF IN SECTS. fMHE amateur gardener who has A watched the ravages of the slug Uifc3 and other garden pests 1 ast summer with rage in his bejart woul easily convinced that they [could be included among the criminal population. But the doings of these pests are as child's play to the ruin which others'work, In France the phylloxera, a tiny insect with luxurious tastes, cost the vineyard owners millions of pounds a few. years ago, the value of the royal feast it had! enjoyed. Perhaps the locust is the worst and most dreaded of all insect criminals. - He gathers in swarms of hot thousands but millions, and where the hordes go the darkness of night gathers, for the light-of day is shut out. When they pass over a district not a blade of vegetation is left behind, ~

It is difficult to estimate the actual money value ;of the damage these: pests cause, but the hopeless ruin and utter starvation in their track entitle. them" to. a foremost place- in the list of criminal insects, lh some! of these countries this insect is fried and. roasted, and without doubt many a peasant who has suffered from the locusts' visitlenjoys this dish with a gusto. The extent of such a plague may be Been by the fact that in Cyprus peasants are paid £4O for every ton of locust eggs they destroy. In some years as many as sixty tons are destroyed, which maans that some 680,000, 000 locusts have been cheated of .their chances of existence. But still they come, and recently the swarms'of locusts were as active ae ever. It is estimated that the ordinary house moth destroys clothing, furniture, and. other property to tbe amount of thousands of pounds yearly. Taking them altogether, insects seem to the ordinary nun to be of considerably more trouble than they are worth, but still there is a bright side to the picture, for there are some insects which are of great, value. Several soft-skinned beetles have been used medicinally to raise blisters, and the gall of the cynips tinctoria••■'is, or was until recently, largely used in the manufacture of ink. Another insect gives us the well-known cochineal dye, while life has, no doubt, been rendered more endurable to the feminine population by the existence of the silkworm. The beehive provides us with wax and honey, while it is' certain that the silphi<Js3 and maggots of fltoa do a great eervioe to mvn by devouring decaying refuse which would otherwise breed serious disease*

CLEVER DOGS. Opinions may differ as to whether it is advisable to give dogs a very elaborate education, but,the most enthusiastic lover of dogs cannot object that the, simple accomplishments of the two dogs in the photographs can causa the. dogs any discomfort. The little gentleman who prefers to have his tea when he is sitting up on the table is a King Charles spaniel. It will be seen that he is dressed up in a very nice tail coat, and his benign expression suggests that he is fully aware of his beauty and of the fact that his garment is most becoming to him. As a rule a dog does not take kindly tea coat when it is first put oa him, but with a very littlepatience he can be taught that the.coat is there for ornament, and that it is not to be scratched into jholes and used as a plaything. Some doga even go so far as to wear boots on. certain occasions. Parisian ladies are fond of giving boots to ' their poodles so that the little dandies shall not soil their feet when they are crossing: the road. In England dog fanciers and veterinary surgeons have a better use for dog boots, They are sometimes put on loHg-haired dogs who are about to be shown. The idea is, of course, that a dog with boots cannot very well disarrange his natural coat. Sometimes the. boots are quite of the home-made kind—pieces of linen rag tied with.tape. Tbe veterinary surgeon occasionally us as indiarubber boots for dogs/in\order to. prevent the dog from hurting himself j with his fest. ;■■:■. v .v |