Vol. XVII. No. VA. 



THE AGKIC U L'J' U tt.AL \ t V\ 



79 



The resulls, as set out in the Mlowing table, speak 

 for themselves: — 



NVMBER OF TEEES ATTACKED BV CANKER. 



1913. 191-t. 1915 1916- 



No of trees on estate 16,29G I'l.S-to 15, 019 15,438 

 January S70 98 -J H 



February 9-13 li.'5 24 



]SIarch 83G 103 35 29 



April 552 81 55 16 



:^Iay 566 137 31 10 



June 185 63 19 



July 141 44 20 



August 53 44 16 



September 41 50 21 



October "8 54 19 



November 48 44 21 



December 87 40 23 



After May 1916 further reports were not received. The 

 first ijuarter of the year, in which as will be seen the number 

 of attacks is greatest, is the season of highest rainfall. It 

 will facilitate comparisons with West Indian conditions to 

 give an abridged table of the rainfall for the period cojered. 

 1913. 1914. 1915. 1916. 



J3 

 o 



a 



C3 



Q 





1 ^ 



Jan-Mar. 39.16 61 .3538 47 49 84-50 62-88 01 

 Apr -June 215130 S 82 23 19-20 27 

 July-Sept. 0-59 2 0-07 7 8-86 10 

 Oct.-Dec. 16-94 23 2293 32 18-10 38 

 Total 78-20 67-20 JBOO 



The returns of the number of the trees annually lost 

 shows a steady decrease, though this is rendered less marked 

 by the death of trees so badly damaged in previous years 

 that they could not possibly recover. The average annual 

 loss from 1908-12 was 1)29 or '>i per cent.; in 1913 it was 

 447 or 2 8 per cent.; in 1914 it was 396 or 1-9 per cent.: and 

 in 1 !• 1 5 it was 1 1 1 or 7 per cent. 



As is well known, CrioUo cacao, in spite of its .superior 

 ■quality, has been practiciUy abandoned in the West Indies 

 owing mainly to its susceptibility to diseases, of which canker 

 is the most important. It .seems highly probable that with 

 careful attention to control measures, including periodic 

 spraying with Bordeaux mixture, it could now be maintained 

 in fair health. Whether the higiier c|uality could be made to 

 pay for the extra cire needed is a question worth 

 attention from the planter. The growing competition of 

 African cacao would ssem to render reduction of prices for 

 the common kind inevitable. A sound policy for a well- 

 organized industry to adopt in competition with cheaper but 

 less well-organized production lies in the improvement of 

 quality. It renuins to be seen whether the West Indian 

 producers are able to justify their inclu.sion in the 

 former class. 



W.\. 



SANDALWOOD. 



Sandalwood oil is one of the most expensive essential 

 oils uirployed in the manufacture of perfumes. The source 

 of the genuine article is the heait-wood of the trunk and 

 nf the larger roots of Santal'nn aUium, a small evergreen tree 

 indioenous in Southern India, more particularly in the dry 

 hilly districts of Mysore, from which it is estimated nearly 



thre • qiiarteis nf ^he wurii^- supply of true .sand il wood is 

 derived. 



According to tlie A'/'/^f'iV; of tlie Imperial Institute, 

 Vol. XV, Nu. I, tiffoie th cint'iieak of the war about 52 

 percent, of the fxport, ol the wo"! Irom India went to 

 Germany for distillarion, and o . y f • m 10 to 20 per cent, 

 to the United Kingdum, aiioilier 12 per cent, going to 

 the United Stales. 



The closing of the Geriniin m irkei it Uie outbreak of 

 the war led to somelhi'ig like a ■•r)l'.,pse f^)r ihe time being 

 of the sandalwood ludus ry in Mysore. Tlie Government 

 however started th- iiis' lliUi.Mi of the oil in .Mysnre, as 

 a government monopoly. Ths is carried on with modem 

 appliances is prictic^.i|y :'. :ii w industry in India. Tue first 

 factory eiected, ca|>able of producing 2,000 tb. of oil per 

 month, was so successful that it was enlarged to a capacity 

 of 5,000 B). per month. A second factory erected in Mysore 

 will probably ultimately have an output of about 20,000 tb. 

 of oil per month, sufficient to supply the whole nf the 

 European demand for sandalwood oil. It is likely that all 

 the sandalwood from the South Indian forests will ultimately 

 be dealt with at this factory 



Besides the true sandalwood o' there are certain substi- 

 tutes put on the marki.t, the moat common oeing oil obtained 

 horn A)iiyris ^ja/saiiiijira a plant indigenous in Venez lela 

 and many of the West Indian islands. 



Besides the demand fur the oil, there is a large market 

 for sandalwood in Eastern countries, particularly in India 

 and China for ceremonial u.ses, and for carving Its use la 

 religious rites, especially for cremation, can be traced to very 

 early times. The woid sandal is in fact a Sanscrit word 

 meaning 'the tree'. Real sandalwood therefore fetches a high 

 price in China. Owin^- to this there is an iuipartation of 

 substitutes fur the wood chiefly from .\u3lralia. 



The so called sandalwood exported from .\u-tralia is 

 mainly derived f r mi Fuianui g/uMtus, a tree of Western 

 Australia, the value of the exp )rt of this w.jjd in 1915 iieing 

 estimated at £33,556. In addition, there is a small export 

 from other states of the (Commonwealth, of F. accuminatus, 

 known locally as 'quandong'. 



It would seem as if European distillers will be obliged 

 to seek other sources of supply of true sandalwood, and no 

 doubt efforts will be made to cultivate Sant'diuii ilbum in 

 other tropical countries. 



Already the wood is being exported from Celebes. It 

 is Slid also to be cultivated in Java, and to some extent in 

 Mauritius. Possibly it might be cultivated with success ia 

 some of the drier islands of the West Indies. Owing to the 

 semi parasitic habits of the tree there may be some difficulty 

 in providing suitable hosts in new localitie:". In India sime 

 144 dirterent trees have been recorded as serving as hosts of 

 the sandalwood. Saatahiiii a/liuiii is a tree of slow growth, 

 requiring from twenty to forty years to develop the maximum 

 amount of fragrant wood. It is therefore necessary to select 

 as hosts species of trees that have themselves a life of at least 

 flirty years, and trees of the leguminous family are suggested 

 as being the most suitable for the purpose. Many of these 

 trees, however, are well known in the West Indies, 

 and grow well, such as Pithecololawii Saman and 

 AUii.ua Lel'i''k. As regards hosts therefore, it would 

 seem as if these West Indian islands were well provided with 

 them. In the matter of soil, Dr. C. A. Barber, in a paper 

 contributed to the Memoirs of the Dcfaitmiiil of .l,:;n\ii/fi/rc, 

 fihliii. Botanical .Series, Vol. I, No. 1. states that although 

 the trees grow and Uourish in rich soi', those grown on poor 

 rocky soils in the Mysore hills produce wood which yields 

 a much higher percentage of oil. 



