32 



top falls awav. Sucb trees are often pointed out by the planters as hav- 

 ing been struck by lightning. Others attribute the death of the tree to a 

 large borer said to work from the trunk up into the bud. In the numer- 

 ous cases examined death was not due to either of these causes. The head 

 of the tree was in all cases invaded by what seems to be a bacterial rot. 

 The organism developes in the sweet slimy coating found on all the young 

 protected origans. It eats into the sheathing bases of the petioles and at- 

 tacks the flowering sheaths. As the spathe grows, the surface becomes 

 cracked and the disease reaches the soft flower buds through these cracks. 

 Finally it reaches the " cabbage" or central growing point which it soon 

 reduces to a stinking rotten mass. The top now falls away sometimes 

 leaving a circle of the lower leaves that had matured before the tree was 

 attacked. These persist for a time but of course finally die also as the 

 tree has no power of branching or of producing a new growing point. The 

 means by which the contagion is conveyed from tree to tree oould not be 

 determined nor could any estimate be formed of the time elapsing between 

 infection and the death of the tree. Numerous cultures were secured and 

 the study of the disease will be continued. 



At Port Antonio the petioles and midribs of the leaves of gome of the 

 diseased trees were found to he invaded by a parasite that caused the 

 browning and death of the tissues. This petioln disease was found on some 

 trees that did not as yet show signs of the bud trouble, Whether or not 

 the two troubles are caused by the same organism can only be determined 

 hy the further study of the cultures that were secured. 



From our present imperfect knowledge of this disease it is impossible to 

 suggest a remedy. Remedial measures or rather successful preventive 

 measures would probably depend on the method by which the disease is 

 conveyed from tree to tree. This can only be determined by careful and 

 prolonged field htudy. The importance of the industry involved would 

 fullv justify the expenditure antl effort necessary to obtain a complete 

 understanding of this disease. The necessity for the destruction of the 

 contagion by the prompt cutting and burning of all infected trees is shown 

 by the marked tendency of the disease to spread from each centre of in- 

 fection. 



It is claimed by some planters that a ce'-tain green skinned variety of 

 cocoanut is less liable to this disease than the reddish and yellowish kinds. 

 The facts observed seemed to support tliis view. If it is confirmed by 

 further obesrvations it will be a factor of the greatest importauco as it 

 would make possible the selecting of a resistant race of cocoanuts, 



Coco-nut Wasting Disease : — In the Eastern part of the Islanl between 

 Morant Bay and Manchioneal, a disease occurs that can best be described 

 by the above name. The nuts slowly fall. The lower leaves droop and 

 fall prematurely, while the new leaves that are produced become success- 

 ively smaller and less vigorous. In the final stage the leaves are re- 

 duced to less than half the normal size and the few that remain stand 

 erect as a thin wisp at the apex of the bare stem which is seen to be ab- 

 ruptly tapered almost to a point. At length the tree dies, but the course 

 of the disease is always slow, and afi"ected trees may live for months or 

 perhaps years. In the trees examined a white scale insect was always 

 found at the base of the petioles and on the fruiting peduncles. The slow 

 loss of /^itality shown by these trees is a result that could be expected from 

 the presence of this class of insects in sufficient quantity but they did not 

 *:eem numerous enough to fully account for the serious effect on the tree. 

 In all the cases examined there was also a slow rotting of the sheathing 

 bases of the petioles and of the fruiting sheaths. The scale insects were 



