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value of the work, real co-operation may be expected before long. 

 A number of expert palm climbers (such as toddy drawers) should 

 be selected under the charge of an agricultural inspector or some 

 similar official and provided with small axes or saws. They 

 should be instructed to climb all the diseased trees, both those in 

 the early stages and those already dead, and to cut off the green 

 tops below the swelling of the leaf sheaths. It is particularly 

 essential that all trees in the early stages should be dealt with, 

 and these can be recognized, where the villagers themselves are 

 unable to do so, by the whitening of one of the leaves towards the 

 centre of the head. After cutting off the heads, the whole of the 

 tops should be collected into a heap in each village and burned. 

 In this way every dead or attacked palm in a selected area would 

 have its power of spreading infection destroyed by burning the 

 diseased parts, and this measure alowe, if steadily pursued, is 

 certain to give good results. The infectious matter is confined to 

 the head of the palm, and as the tree is doomed once the disease 

 appears and will yield little or no further profit, its removal 

 costs little but the actual expense of labour in cutting it down 

 and burning it. 



To save healthy trees within the affected districts, in places 

 where they are surrounded by large numbers of dead or dying trees 

 is difficult unless the above measures are very thoroughly carried 

 out. But the chances of their infection may be very largely 

 diminished if they are brushed with Bordeaux mixture on the leaf 

 sheaths when the removal of diseased trees commences. Bordeaux 

 mixture is a substance which adheres strongly to the surfaces of 

 plants and, being poisonous to fungus spores, it prevents their 

 germination or kills the young germ filaments as soon as they 

 appear. A second gang of toddy drawers should be employed for 

 this work and provided with small vessels containing the mixture 

 and mops of rags for brushing it on to the sheaths. The expanded 

 leaves need not be brushed, but only the leaf sheaths below these. 

 One man should be able to do from 30 to 50 trees in a clay, and if 

 the work is done at the time that the trees are climbed for cutting 

 the leaves, the cost of the labour should be small. The men employed 

 for removing diseased trees should not be allowed to climb healthy 

 ones, as there is some danger of their conveying the infection on 

 their persons or axes. The cost of the materials used cannot be 

 exactly given as it depends on the price at which copper sulphate 

 can be landed in the district and the availability of a supply of 

 of good lime in the neighbourhood. A pint would probably be 

 nearly enough to treat one tree, and this should not cost more than 

 about one pie. 



To prepare 50 gallons of the mixture, weigh out 6 lbs. copper 

 sulphate, break to powder and dissolve in 25 gallons of cold water 

 by suspending in a piece of gunny sacking in the water. The 

 latter must not be contained in a metal vessel but in a barrel or 

 big earthenware pot. In another vessel weigh out 4 lbs. of fresh 

 quicklime. Slake this gradually till it falls to powder and then 

 add water up to 25 gallons. Allow it to cool. When cool, add 



