Nature-In And
p. 53 · Read in the full issue
Out Of
Balance In Fiji
From R. W. Robson Discussing pest controls with Mr. B. E. V. Parham, of Fiji Pepartment of Agriculture, I learned iome quaint things about the balance jf nature.
I Because bare country erodes ;asily, the Government stopped the Fijians from buring off scrub urn Necessarily. The burning of the crub used to kill off the surplus tukaki —the large swamp fowl which r ou will find in Fiji and other South !ea islands, as well as in New Zea and. The pukaki now have so in ireased in numbers that they are ating the food gardens and bananas f the natives; and the natives are owling accordingly.
The giant toad was brought in to heck the insect pests which preyed n the sugar-cane. The toad has been 3 efficient on the job that now there re not enough insects to feed the irds; and the birds are increasingly hacking the natives’ fruit and More native howling.
Mr. Parham is trying to teach the Fijians to handle ladybirds correctly.
Coconut scale flares up in patches.
Thereupon the people who know about these things seek a place where lady birds flourish. They gather up a few pints of ladybirds and take them to the patch of scale. The ladybirds feast merrily on the scale, and re store the palms to health.
But the catching of ladybirds is an acquired art.
Mr. Loke Wan Tho, who has spent a couple of months in the NG Highlands photographing birds of paradise and other fauna, is at pre sent holidaying in Australia with his wife. They will shortly return home
to Singapore.
The Boy’s Brigade of New Zea land holds an annual Missionary Day when boys give donations to help the less fortunate Companies of the Pacific. This year Niue Island received £25 to help their 12 Boys’
Brigade Companies and other sub stantial gifts were sent to the Cook Islands (where the Brigade is very strong) and to Papua, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands,
Mrs. J. A. Chapman of Wai-Ni-Van, [?]ji, photographed in Suva Hospital on [?]e occasion of her 90th birthday. She [?]s born in Victoria and has spent 62 [?]ars in Fiji. Some months ago she had leg amputated but is making an [?]azing recovery. Her husband died in [?]47. She has one son living (Mr. W. [?]apman of Suva), five grandchildren and [?] great-grandchildren. —Photo by Stinsons Studios.