137 



tops he will be surprised at the narrowness of the crevice into 

 which one of the flat _\()un_n- larvae of the insect can crawl. 

 It is perhaps tor this \-er}' i)nrpose that the yonni;- insect Is 

 so very Hat. 



Observe how inip'jrtant a fact'rr this is in the life history 

 of the insect. All the young insects that have the instinct to 

 force their way in among- these top leaves stand a good chance 

 to be transplanted along with the top. When the top is 

 ])lanted in a new field it takes root, and as it grows it gives 

 rise to new parts that accommodate the insects, so that these latter 

 propagate to advantage. It is for this reason that the bulk 

 of the insects are to be found at the base of the fruit. A few 

 of them, however, wander to the top, and it is these that 

 help carry the blight over to the next crop of pineapples. 



The precaution suggested by these facts will by this time 

 have become patent to any reader. When the tops are removed 

 for the purpose of planting out, the gTeatest care should be 

 exercised to see that none of the scale insects are transplanted 



F\g. 8. Top pulled 

 from a rotten pineapple 

 to show that the tissues 

 of the top are subject to 

 the attacks of the Tlddn- 

 viopsis fungus. a, a, 

 sound tissue of the top; 

 h. black fibers pulled 

 from the rotten pai't of 

 the ])ineapple and carry- 

 ing; multitudes of spores, 

 so many that the fibers 

 are black with them ; c, 

 point to which the dis- 

 coloration due to the rot 

 extends ; the fungus 

 mycelium, that is the dis- 

 ease, will be found some 

 distance in advance of 

 this point. It is to 'be 

 ho])ed that such a top as 

 this would rarely be 

 planted, even after the 

 most severe trimming. 

 The point to be specially 

 noted is that the tissues 

 of the top are subject to 

 the disease. Here we 

 have them attacked. If 

 they are subject to the 

 diseases, they are liable to 

 contract it after being 

 planted, if the soil hap- 

 pens to contain the 

 spores of the fungus. 



