12 



with enormous rapidity in tlie mucilage surrounding the seeds, and 

 eventually dries up the whole contents of the fruit, and gives to it 

 a curious sour smell. 



" When the diseased patch on the rind is about the size of a 

 penny piece, small circular mounds, about the size of a pin's head, 

 can be seen about the centre of the brown area on the rind from 

 which a greyish white powdery dust is expelled which turns black 

 in a short time. This dust is composed of elliptical dark brown 

 one-septate spores. The small mounds into which the surface of 

 the pod is raised are found to be due to the fructifications of a 

 fungus in which the above spores are formed which rupture the 

 epidermis and liberate the spores through a small circular opening. 



Remedial Measures. 



"It is obvious when we consider the character of this disease 

 that no steps can be taken, with any hope of success, to arrest the 

 spread of the fungus when once it has gained access to a pod — in 

 other words, there is no ' cure' for the disease. Preventive measures 

 alone are possible, and these must be directed towards the des- 

 truction of everything in the plantations which harbours the fungus 

 with a view of preventing further infection by means of spores. 

 The following treatment is suggested for dealing with the disease. 



" I. As a general rule care should be taken not to allow the pods 

 to get too ripe, as the fungus seems most liable to attack pods in 

 this condition. Again, ripe pods, showing small brown discoloured 

 areas, should be picked at once so as to save the beans if possible. 



" 2. All husks or shells left after the beans have been extracted, 

 should be buried as soon as possible under the trees, and, if the 

 buried heaps are large, lime should be added to hasten decay and 

 prevent local souring of the soil. There are two obvious reasons 

 why this expense in burying pods should be incurred. First, there 

 is the advantage to the soil in supplying humus, and secondly, 

 the fungus is deprived of a substratum on which it thrives and 

 produces countless millions of spores which may infect living pods. 

 The "breaking-grounds" should be moved from time to time so as 

 to give as many trees as possible the benefit of this manuring. 

 Recently, while making a tour through the island of Grenada, I 

 was very forcibly impressed by the general absence of this disease 

 in plantations where the pods were systematically buried, and also 

 by its presence on estates and small holdings where this practice 

 had not yet been adopted. Indications are not wanting, however, 

 that cacao planters are realising the importance of this step, both 

 from the point of view of the enrichment of the soil and the preven- 

 tion of disease. 



" 3. All badly diseased pods on the trees where the fungus has 

 reached the beans, and all old husks on the ground which have 

 turned black and become covered with the sooty spores of the 

 fungus, should either be buried away from the cacao trees or else 

 burnt. 



