67 



It is of course a well known fact that ignorant persons have brought 

 forward " cures" for such, and as a rule the more ignorant the person, 

 the more certain have they been that they had an " infallible cure." 

 In the long run, however, it is seen that no *' cure" has been made, 

 and palliative or preventive measures are the only ones practicable, 

 the real cure having to be looked for, by securing increased vitality 

 in the plant, which may sometimes be accomplished. 



With us in Trinidad the Sugar Cane has been attacked by 

 parasitic fungi, and the evidence so far certainly goes to show that it 

 is the neglect of precautionary measures in the disposal of infected 

 plants which has conduced to the spread of this disease. What can 

 be expected when it can be shown that planters have in some cases to 

 trust to men, who will prepare " tops" for plants, which are in reality 

 alive with fungus, as was seen in one of our best sugar districts on a 

 recent occasion. These tops were certainly infested with the spores of 

 Trichosphcaria, and yet they were being used for planting, and would 

 it not be hard to point to a more certain means for promoting the 

 spread of such a pest than the use of such infected material ? But it 

 is knoAvn that many hesitate even yet to accept the scientific evidence 

 of the danger of such a course, and continue cultivation entirely on 

 old lines, and year after year, use contaminated plants. 



TricJiosph(Bria has now been fairly proved to have been once 

 simply a Saprophyte that is to say, it found its sustenance on dead 

 or decaying matter — but with the constant accumulation of rotten 

 material left upon the fields it has gained such strength as to enable 

 it to take on the parasitic form, and can now attack living canes — 

 especially those which are weakened by any local cause, or have lost 

 their constitutional vigour or vitality through the systematic adoption 

 of continuous culture without change of crop on the same fields year 

 after year ; and it is quite clear that the remedy can only be found 

 in inducing a larger amount of vigour in the plant grown, so as to 

 enable it truly to throAv off the attack of the parasite, and enable the 

 cane to put on that original condition known as health. 



The best possible means of procuring this desirable end at 

 present appears to be after the destruction of all diseased material to 

 secure those seedling varieties for field cultivation which are least 

 susceptible to the attack of parasitic enemies, or in other words those 

 possessing the greatest amount of " constitutional vigour." 



In the case of parasitic attack "a cure" may often be effected 

 when it is of a destructive character, (i.e.) where such is not induced 

 by previous weakness ; but if the attack has been invited by the 



