THE AGKICULTUKAL NEWS. 



rKi;i;i AKV ;•, 19l!S. 



PLANT DISEASES, 



FOMES LUCIDUS AS A PARASITE OF 

 TREES. 



The fungus above nanted has come to notice from time 

 to time in these island- i- a suspected parasite working on 

 the loots and collars of v.trious trees. Its occurrence on 

 the loots of lime trees in Montserrat was discussed in the 

 ll\s/ Indian Ihilhtii by Mr. Y. W. South (To' XII, 

 p. 49;i) who found the evidence strongly suggestive that it 

 w,s responsible for somo "f the losses of trees experienced 

 in that island and in Antigua. 



A case in which, o\vin<i to the absence of complications, 

 the connexion of this finigus with root disease was more 

 ckarly indicated received .-ome attention from the writer in 

 Sr. Kilts in 19U. At the Basseterre Botanic Gardens a row 

 of large Saman trees (/'/.■//(•"/"/'/>//// Saman) was thinned out 

 a few years ago by cutting down alternate trees. Abcput 

 a year afterwards three of the remaining trees died wiili 

 a fungus rot of the roots, and an adjacent hedge of breadand 

 cheese ( /'. /(■//.e'//'* iv?// ) was similarly killed. The Saman 

 trees have continued to die one by one. White mycelium is 

 ^pientifuliy developed, in some places in thick masse?, under 

 the bark of the collar and roots, and large sporophores of 

 Foims /iiiitii/s regularly grow out from this when the 

 tree is dying or dead. The l)racket-like fructifications attain 

 in well-trown examples to a diameter of 30 centimetres. 

 They are usually supported on short thick reddish-black 

 polished stalk- single or fused: the upper surface is irregu- 

 larly wrinkled and ha> the appearance of being coaled with 

 brownish-red laccpiei ; while the under side when fresh is 

 whitish or buff in coloiu-. The fungus has been similarly 

 associ^ited with root di.*ea,-i' of coco-nut, mango, -nd l'..inriana 

 in Ceylon. 



A letter recently received from Mr. I'. .1. \An I'.reeinen, 

 Director of the Agricultural Department at Curac-oa, 

 give- the information that the fungus has come under 

 suspicion there of being the cause of a white rot of C 'acsa/pin/u 

 Ciiriarin and . {riuin furlicisn which is at present under 

 investigation. 



Coincident with this reopening of the subject there has 

 come to band a reprint from the Simlli Afriian /I'uriuu n/ 

 .Sc/fmr coDtaining a noti- by the I'nion Mycologist. 

 ^fr. P. A. van der Bijl, on the occurrence of the same fungus 

 on certain trees, parliculnrly Arnria spp. and willnw in 

 iSrxUh Africa. The death of a large number of acaci* tree> 

 around Pretoria is altribuicd to the fungus, and the fact that 

 Acacia iimUini'iia, the cultivated wattle, is inv.ilved, adds tc 

 the economic importance of the disease. The author regards 

 the fungus as a facultative parasite, which is only likely to 

 become established when the ability of the trees to resist its 

 attack is impaired by unf.ivi.urable conditions. This agrees 

 with the conclusion formed by the present writer with 

 r.gard to lime trees in Mont.«errat and elsewhere in these 

 island. 



The action rif the fungus on the worul of the willow 

 is described as one of delignification and digestion wliiih 

 [iroeeeds slowly and gradually. 



The importance of metliOfJs ot continl ainaiiig at the 

 destruction of the frnctifii">ti<'ns and of all material Jiarboiir- 

 irg the mycelium o| the luiigus i.- emphasized, on the 

 ground 'hat the myreliuiii remains active aiirl retain' its 

 power of fruiting for years after the host [)lttnt i.s dead. 



The note contains a ii-cfnl discussion of the synonymy 

 if the funcos The author uh's the name Pn'iipcruf Incidur. 



and points out that a generalized description covering the- 

 rather wide range of variability shown by the fungus will 

 also include a number of fonus which have been described 

 as distinct species. 



Saccardo gives the name of the fungus as /■hmis /in-idiis, 

 A rendering which has been followed in the publications of 

 this l»epartnicnt. The usually acce|ited distinctitm between 

 Polyporus and homes, namely the annual character of the 

 former and the perennial habit of the latter, is one which 

 ill practice ma\ be very difiicult to apply, especially in the- 

 tropics. If Murrell's scheme of classification be accep'ed, the 

 fungus should presura'ibly be placed in the eenus (Janoderma. 

 The absence of all synonymy, combined with the general use 

 of new and unfamiliar names, in the last mentioned writer's 

 monograph on tropical Folypores, hinders one from learning 

 his views on the fungus in question. 



WX. 



HOME-GROUND CORN MEAL. 



.\ correspondent of the Jnnrnal <if the Jamaica Ai/ri- 

 lultutv'. S"C«'//, December 1917, contributes the following 

 useful hints, which may be of practical value as a suggestion 

 to housekeepers in other islands:- — 



'I have made corn meal with my coti'ee mill that uould 

 make some of the imported corn mills feel ashamed. This 

 is how I do the thing; First, I have the mill jiroperlv 

 cleaned with hot water and dried. Then 1 screw ii down so 

 that the corn comes out in coarse grit from the first grinding. 

 Secondly, I screw it up to threi' quarter tight, and pass the 

 grit through which should come out nearly done. Thirdly 

 I screw up as tightly as possible, return meal to mill and 

 the result is that after sifting I get as fine a m al as could 

 be desired. Awain, if I desire to have a real good plate 

 of pea soup, all I have to do is to pass the peas through 

 the mill before cooking, and the result is mirvellous. 

 I have not tried it with banana or potato chip,*, but I 

 feel confident that the same results can be obtained. 

 ( >f course, it takes up more time and labour than the corn 

 mill, but the results pay when you haven't got a corn mill of 

 your own or one near by. 



A kitchen corn mill used to be very common in Barba- 

 dos thirty or forty years ago, in which the daily supply of 

 meal for the hous' hold was ground from fresh corn. A re- 

 turn to the old practice is certainly advisable now. 



THE CANARY PINE, 



The qiieslion nf aft'orestation, or reati'oiestation, is one 

 of sonre importance in many of the smaller West Indian 

 islands. The kind of tree which it is best to plant on nearly 

 denuded areas is worthy of considei-ation, and any hints as to 

 valuable forest trees possibly suited to West Indian con- 

 ditions, especially to those in the drier islands, are valuable. 



Dr. (!. V. Pert/, of Teneriffe. in an article contributed to 

 the lUilhlin dc la Suciete Xa/imia/t d' Air/iina/a/io/i d' /■hiiiir, 

 August 1917, draws attention to the merits of a species of 

 jiinc tree (I'liiiis uniar'niisis) indigenous to the C/aiiary 

 Islands, for ati'oreslation purpose, lie says that this pine 

 Ins been found to ^row well in all ot the warmer temper- 

 ate countries border ing on the .Medileri-anein, and aho has 

 been introdui'ed suiTessfully into .Soutii Africa, (.'Idle, 

 Australia, and New Zealand. The tree grows vigorou^ily 

 from coast lands lo a height of 1,50() feet above sea level. 

 In c'iscussing the merits of the tree, |)r. I 'erez states that 

 its wood is one of t!io harilesf, unsurpassed for endurance 



