END OF A LONG SEARCH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3669, 2 November 1912, Page 10

END OF A LONG SEARCH.

WANTED—AX ENEMY FOB A TEST. In the summer of 190 G an entomologist named Frederick Muir was.sent out by the Hawaii Sugar Planters’ Association to discover “a natural enemy’’ of the sugar-cane borer. He went first to China and for five months searched patiently. Accompanied by a Chinese boy ke climbed the Lo-pou Mountains, and only escaped death at tlie bands of the natives by stating that lie was a doctor in search of medicinal herbs. Early in 1907 he continued his vain quest through the Malay States and wandered in the wildest parts of Java and

• Borneo for some time. An excursion ! to the Moluccas followed, Muir working in the litcio native cantvfields. ■ often knee-deep in pestilential mud. tormented by mosquitoes, and living in foul native huts. At last, to his great joy, he discovered a borer-beetle not in the sugar-cane, but in the sagopalm. It resembled the Hawaiian borer and it had a parasite. After collecting a great number of both parasites and borers Muir started on his return journey, but on reaching Hong Kong found that all his trens-

ures were dead. Two years had bone ] by and lie had little or nothing to show for his work. He started off I again, after many wearv/nmoths, discovered what lie was looking for in Papua. With a lot of growing cane to feed his insects the wand/rer journeyed to Brisbane, where he hoped to take ship to Honolulu,/ but, unfortunately, he contracted typhoid fever and while he was in tlie hosnital

Ills parasites -hatched out an/! died. He <lid not, hmvevei'i abaiidoii/liiniself to despair. In February, mo, he was back in Papua, where he collected another colony of insects aid prepared to leave for home. Illn/ss acain in-

tervened, but the hunter Would not he baulked. In June he reached Fiji, "hero he bred sevferal generations of parasites, and by the exfrcise of great care and inexhaustible patience he landed his precious charge in Hawaii in August, 1910. Subsequent experiments have proved th.it the scientist

| secured just what the planters needed. and. it is estimated that as a result of his prolonged efforts, they will profit to the extent of more than £'2o 0,000 a year.