August i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



93 



been registered in this district. Dumbara knows 

 nothing yet of the south-west monsoon, except a few 

 showers lasting perhaps ten minutes each, which have 

 fallen within the last day or two. The total amount 

 of rain which has fallen in this valley since January has 

 been only 11 inches. At least a normal amount of rain- 

 fall is essential to the proper growth and development of 

 the cacao plant, and it speaks something for the vitility 

 and healthiness of the trees that they have stood the 

 prolonged drought so well. As was pointed out to 

 me, anyone looking' casually over the estate, and seeing 

 on the tops of the trees dead shoots entirely devoid 

 of leaves, might easily run away with the impression 

 that they were the work of blight, now that the scare 

 has been started, but investigation will show thai this 

 is not a cause for any alarm and is indeed but the 

 perfectly natural procees of "dying back" which the 

 cacao trees in common with other trees undergo. On 

 any common jungle tree the same thing can be seen : 

 the tree cannot always grow up, and the dying away 

 of the topmost shoots is in itself perfectly natural. 

 That this has nothing to do with the disease is 

 evidenced by the fact that the tree loses none of 

 its vitality, and some which were pointed out to 

 me were covered with pods and young shoots. 

 Here and there a young tree will be found com- 

 pletely dead, but a satisfactory explanation of it can 

 be found without making it a cousequence of the 

 disease. What is more common on a tea estate 

 than to rind here and there a plant die off, perhaps 

 from drought, perhaps because it is a naturally weak 

 plant, or there may be some fault in its planting out. 



As to the nature of this new pest there is some 

 difference of opinion, but I think there can be little 

 doubt that it is an insect pest, and therefore not so 

 terrible an enemy as the dreaded fungus. It is sup- 

 posed — and in fact may be said certainly — to be the 

 work of Helopeltis Antonii, a fly which "cometh like 

 a thief in the night " and attacks the tender shoots 

 of the tree. Trees which have been so attacked, 

 though apparently healthy enough one day will be 

 found shrivelled and dead the next day with minute 

 perforations visible on the young shoots and leaves, 

 and this always takes place in the night. But a most 

 important factor in the case is the fact that healthy 

 trees are not attacked. I can confidently say that as 

 far as the Dumbara estates are concerned it is im- 

 possible to find a healthy tree which has suffered 

 from the pest. On one estate in Dumbara, disease is 

 very bad ; but what is the reason ? Why, one or more 

 of the most important elements in successful cacao I 

 cultivation is wanting and the trees are naturally 

 unhealthy and prone to disease. Cacao is a deep | 

 feeder, and it is impossible to grow it successfully on 

 a rock covered by six inches of soil ; it also requires 

 a good soil, and it will not grow in a hard soil of 

 which iron is a large component ; it is likewise a 

 delicate plant which caunot stand exposure to the 

 wind and therefore will not grow on bare exposed 

 ridges, and, what is perhaps of more importance than 

 any, it requires plenty of rain; and yet 1 have found 

 every one of these conditions absent, with the result 

 that trees have died anil a terrible pest has been 

 blamed. A theory which I heard expounded bv an 

 experienced cacao planter is that, if some essential 

 element of cultivation has been neglected Or is wanting, 

 the trie becomes unheal'liy, and in this state its 

 sap is sweetened. The sweet sap attracts the fly which 

 bores into the young shouts to get at it, and, having 

 extracted its vital principle the tree rapidly dies. 

 This of course is only a theory, but it is a veiy 

 reasonable oue aud one which might very well he 

 subjected to scientific investigation. It is at any rate 

 borne out by the fact that' iu a healthy state the 

 trees are not attacked by the insect. 



Most planters I have met insist upon the necessity . 



of shade. Mr. Holloway has a chaiacteristic pro- 

 posal, which at any rate has the merit of being 

 novel. It probably would not have occurred to any- 

 one but Mr. Holloway that croton made a, good 

 shade for cacao trees and the paiticular merit 

 he claimed for it at the P. A. meeting was 

 that it was profitable to cultivate crotons, though 

 I imagine there are not many planters who will endorse 

 Mr. Holloway's opinion as to its suitability as shade for 

 cacao ! Jak-tree is a favourite cacao shade and 

 answers its purpose very well. Mr. Vollar believes 

 in planting shade at the same time as the cacao is 

 planted aud allowing both to grow up together, as 

 young plants will not grow so well under shade. 

 The superiority of the trees grown on good 

 soil over those planted on hard or poor soil 

 is very apparent, and to plant cacao where coffee will 

 not grow is simply absurd. 



Several remedies for the blight have been suggested. 

 Pure kerosine oil poured over the tree prevents the 

 fly from renewing its attacks on it, but, as it is almost 

 certain to destroy the tree, the remedy is worse than 

 the disease. Pruning the parts attacked has been 

 tried but with little success, the insects simply going 

 to another part of the tree ; and this lends colour to 

 the theory that the plants attacked are from some 

 defect in their cultivation susceptible of attack and 

 that healthy trees will not suffer. The most effectual 

 remedy for it in my opinion is to root out all the 

 cacao where it has been attacked and plant something 

 else in its place, for the very fact of its having been 

 attacked shows that the soil or locality is not good 

 for cacao. Some very fine cacao trees 30 years old 

 were shown me, on Pallekele, covered with young pods, 

 anil indeed all the cacao on this estate is exception- 

 ally fine. Oue or two trees which had been attacked, 

 the only ones we could find, were examined, and in 

 every case it was shown that either the trees were 

 in a position where they were exposed to the full 

 power of the wind or else they were planted on poor 

 or insufficient soil. The blight is said to be very 

 virulent in the Polgabawela district, and it would 

 be altogether premature to assert that it is of 

 no consequence, or even that it will not be yet 

 another trouble heaped on our long-suffering and 

 sorely-tried planters, and it will, therefore, require 

 the closest watching aud the strictest investigation, 

 but at the same time it is really not neoessary at 

 present to take the extremely alarmist view if it 

 which some people take. Of course any theories or 

 conclusions of mine carry no weight, but it certainly 

 does seem to me that people whose estates offer all 

 the elements necessary to success, good soil, shelter, 

 &C., need not be afraid of their cacao trees, for if the 

 trees are healthy they will not be attacked by 

 tbe fly. 



Turning to coffee for a moment, there are some 

 magnificent crops to be seen in Dumbara aud the pro- 

 spects with regard to our old staple are much brighter, 

 this year than they have been for si me years past 

 Fever is very prevalent amongst the coolies: on one 

 estate yesterday only six turned out at muster, and 

 on another some 60 or 70 were in the hands of the 

 doctor. Drought is no doubt the cause of this, and 

 lain is anxiously looked for. Probably a fortnight's 

 rain would wash cacao-blight away. 



ExroRT of Ceylon Tea.— A writer iu the Indigo 

 and Ten Plavti rs' Gazette states : — " Then a new factor 

 has now to be taken into account in Ceylon, and we 

 note they expect to have ten millions for exports 

 this year." The " note " was \ery far out, for iu 

 the season which will end on 30th September we do not 

 expect our export of lea to exceed one-fourth of the 

 quantity mentioned. 



