Vol. XVII. No. 427. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



■287 



'The disease, as already pointed out, starts on the heart 

 leaves while still white and tender, before they push into the 

 light. Just what conditions favour this infection cannot be 

 stated yet. Check to growth during a period of drought 

 may have started it at some estates, while the last two 

 unusually wet years have made it epidemic' 



The presence of this disease seems to lay the tree more 

 open to attack by bud rot, and it is also being followed by 

 Metamasius sericeus (the weevil borer of sugar-cane) which 

 is attracted to the rotting patches on the heart leaves, and 

 does a limited amount of damage by enlarging the injuries. 

 The basis of the treatment now adopted consists in 

 chopping back the whole bud until no discoloured leaflets 

 show in the heart. A mixture of salt, lime, and copper sul- 

 phate is then applied to prevent re-infection. 



The second type (hard or little leaf-bitten disease) is 

 more widfly spread but not so definitely epidemic. The des- 

 cription is as follows: — 



'As a rule short limbs can be seen in any part of the 

 crown with a bitten off appearance of the foliage: the leaflets 

 are frequently reduced to short, dry stumps, and the limbs 

 brown and dried up; Such dwarfed, withered leaves are 

 frequently mingled with normal green leaves, showing that 

 for a short time good leaves may be developed. In a bad 

 case all the youngest leaves in the heart remain dwarfed, and 

 the ends wither up, giving the tree the appearance of having 

 lost its heart, and resembling an advanced case of bud rot. 

 Affected limbs which are still living show long, brown, raised, 

 cracked and very hard patches on the upper surface. This 

 condition may be present on all the leaves in the heart, and 

 reach deep down into it. As the affected limbs and strainer 

 become hard and unyielding, the youngest growth is held as 

 if in a vice; if able to push out the leaves are dwarfed, and 

 the leaflets deformed and twisted from having developed 

 under great pressure. If the heart fails to push out, it hardens 

 and dies, and the tree ceases to grow, and eventually dies. 

 When such a bud is chopped open, the heart is found brown 

 and hard, wihout odour, and with no signs of soft rot. If 

 bud rot is prevalent in the cultivation, the tree may be killed 

 by a secondary attack of that disease which may therefore 

 follow both pine-apple and hard leaf-bitten diseases. Trees 

 not severely attacked by this disease may recover naturally, 

 at least for a time; the bud leaves in such cases are shorter 

 than usual, often curved or twisted, and may show cracks on 

 the limbs fiom which a colourless gum oozes, hardening into 

 reddish lumps. 



'In the early stage of attack the leaflets and limbs show 

 yellow spots, and after the brown, raised, cracked areas have 

 appeared on the limbs, these are bounded by a yellowish, 

 waxy-looking zone. Between the cells and these yellow spots 

 and patches a very small yeast can be seen in quantity, and 

 cultures have always yielded the same yeast, which as a rule, 

 is the only organism to develop. The same yeast has been 

 frequently found in a yellowish sodden rot of coco-nut trunks, 

 .sometimes in association with pine-apple fungus.' 



The third disease, lue to a fungus of Phytophthora type, 

 is shown by Ashby's most recent work to be closely connected 

 with the fungus type of bud rot already referred to. Yellow 

 spots with brown edges are present on and run across a series 

 of overlapping leaflets in the heart; a delicate mildew may be 

 present on the spots. The affected leaves when pushed out 

 into air and light show brown sp 'ts on the unfolded leaflets at 

 the same level. The fungus resembles very closely, and seems 

 likely to prove identical with Pythium paimivon/m, the cause 

 of bud rot of coco nuts and of Palmyra palms (Borassus 

 ^abelliformis) in India. 



W.N. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 



Market. 



Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., has forwarded the fol- 

 lowmg report on the London drug and spice marke* 

 for the month of .July 1918: 



"JINGEE. 



The month started with advanced prices for this article. 

 Common to good-common Jamaica was quoted at 130^^. to 

 Vihs. and medium to good, 140j. to IoOj. Washed Cochin 

 realized from 140.. to 160.f., and Calicut 135.?, while 

 Japan was quoted at 130,f. At auction on the 17tb of 

 the month ginger was reported very firm, Jamaica fetch- 

 ing from 165^. to 17.5.f. according to quality, and fair 

 washed rough Cochin 180j., while Calicut was quoted at 

 165j-. (.^)uite at the end of the month the ruling prices were 

 as follows: Jamaica 160j-. to 170j-, Cochin 170.f. to 180.y., 

 Calicut 160y. to 170j-., and Japanese 12-55. to 135.-. Com- 

 menting on these prices the Chemist ami Druggist says: 

 'The recent advance appears to be due to speculation, and 

 consumers are disinclined to take interest at the much higher' 

 level of prices now prevailing. Second-hand dealers offer 

 good Jamaica at 140,f., Calicut at 12.5j-., and Cochin at 140j-. 

 which prices are nmch lower than tho.se asked by Mincing 

 Lane operators.' 



SAR.S.4PAEILLA. 



This drug was in fair supply at auction on July 4, 

 consisting of 29 bales uf grey .Jamaica, 28 of Lima-Jamaica,' 

 40 of native Jamaica, and 10 of Honduras. Of the first 

 28 bales were disposed of at 5j-. 'id. to hs. M. per ft. for 

 fair fibrous, 5j-. being paid for slightly mouldy. Ten bales ■ 

 only of the Lima Jamaica found buyers, fetching from 5s. 

 to 5.f. \d. per lb. Of the 40 bales of native Jamaica only 

 26 were disposed of at from 5,v. to hs. \d. per ft. None of 

 the Honduras was sold, being limited at f>s. 6d. 



ARROWEOOT, PIMENTO, CITRIC ACID, CASSIA FISTULA, 

 LIME .lUICE, MACE, NUT.MEGS, TAJIARINOS. 



At the first auction in the month, namely on the 4th 

 as many as 800 barrels of St. Vincent arrowroot were offered, 

 and sold at from Is. 5d. to l.v. (]d. per ft. for common to good 

 manufacturing. Further sales were also effected at the same 

 rate at the close of the month. Pimento has had a steady 

 sale throughout the month at 6(/. to 6ir/. per ft. There has 

 been a steady demand also for citric acid throughout the 

 month, at from 3j. 5d. to :is. 5\d. per ft. At auction on 

 July 4, Cassia Fistula was represented by 30 packages, all 

 of which were sold it ^>0s. per cwt. over previous prices, 

 fair bold, part rattley from Dominica fetching 132,i-. Qd. 

 Lime juice was in largo supply at auction on the 4th of the 

 month, some 56 packages being offered, all of which were 

 bought in at 4s. Qd. per gallon for good pale raw. A week 

 later it was reported that there was a steady de mand for raw 

 West Indian at from .S.v 9d. to 4,v. 6^. per gallon. At auction 

 on the 11th of the month mace and nutmegs were both 

 in fair supply, the former selling at Ss. Zd. per ft. for fair 

 quality, and the latter at is. Gd. per ft. for Penang 80'3. 

 A consignment of some 135 barrels of Antigua tamarinds 

 were brought forward quite at the end of the month, and 

 were disposed of at prices ranging from 98.c to 1 28». per cwt. 

 in bond; for small, mostly dark colour, and pulpy. It waa 

 reported later on that a portion of this consignment had 

 been re-sold at prices up to lAOs. per cwt 



