62 



HISTORY AND CAUSE OF THE COCONUT BUD-EOT. 



road and fording a river. The grove itself was full of underbrush, 

 fallen leaves and logs, and contained some low, marshy places as well 

 as high, dry ground. 



Under such conditions it was deemed inadvisable to use an ordinary 

 orchard sprajang outfit, as it would be much too cumbersome to move 

 about. A 2i-horsepower gasoline engine and a pump with a 2^-uich. 

 cylinder were mounted on a four-wheeled truck only large enough to 

 hold the apparatus. The supply tank was a 200-Uter barrel, mounted 

 on two wheels and drawn by hand. Fifty meters of 9.5 millimeter 

 5-ply hose was taken along and in addition a two-cylmder hand 

 pump. The proposed plan was to apply a mixed germicide and 

 insecticide to the crown. In lieu of some apparatus to raise the spray 

 to the required height — anywhere up to an average of 20 meters and 

 an occasional height of 30 or 40 meters — it was decided to ascend the 

 tree in person, carrying the hose, and then apply the spray to the 

 crown. With the use of iron climbers and leather belt the wnter 

 found it possible to do this easily up to 18 meters, and with difficulty 

 up to 20 or 25 meters. Above that height it was, for all practical 

 purposes, impossible, owing to the weight of the hose. 



In starting this work it was first necessary to clear out the under- 

 brush and much of the debris littering the ground in order to get about 

 with the sprapng apparatus. The entire grove of 145 trees was then 

 sprayed. It was possible to ascend a tree, spray it, and descend in 

 about 15 minutes. An average of about 20 trees per day was the 

 usual result. The grove was sprayed once in February and March, 

 again in June, and a thkd time in August, 1908. A visit to the grove 

 was made in November, but it was too badly diseased to make another 

 spraying of any value. The following data will give an idea of the 

 results of the spraying; or, perhaps more accurately, shows the prog- 

 ress of the disease in the grove during and after the application of the 

 spraying solution, which consisted of 4-6-50 Bordeaux mixture con- 

 taining Paris green, 1 part in 3,000: 



Table V. — Record of conditions of coconut trees sprayed in 1908. 



Date of inspection. 



Feb. 18 

 Mar. 11 

 May 28. 



Number of trees. 



Newly- 

 diseased. 



35 

 35 

 23 



Healthy. 



145 

 145 

 122 



Date of inspection. 



Aug. 5. 

 Oct. 21. 

 Nov. 20. 



Number of trees. 



Newly 

 diseased. 



64 

 68 

 25 



Healthy. 



58 



45 



6 



This record of the steady spread of the infection during the 

 progress of the spraying is distinctly against any practical value 

 for such work. It may be said, however, that there were conditions 



228 



