304 



evidence) .survive, and tlie death of the remaining 50 per cent is, 

 I believe, mainly brought about by insect and perhaps also fungal 

 attack. 



" Tt will be seen that T should account for the subssequent death 

 of lightning-struck trees in the main to insect and fungal attack 

 following on local injury caused to the cambium and I can find 

 nothing to confirm any theory which would attribute subsequent 

 deaths to the belated but direct effects of the lightning." 



T. F. C. 



Castor Oil Plant Diseases. 



The ever recurrent discui^sion as to the practicability of plant- 

 ing Castor Oil Plant as a first class crop in Malaya makes one keep 

 a look out of enemies that the plant has encountered in other 

 countries. The Tropical Agriculturist Vol. LIY, No. 3, contains 

 the following quotation from the Journal of Mysore Agric. and 

 Exp. Union Vol. I, No. 2, 



" To the already considerable list of natural host plants of 

 Bacterium Solanacearum (brown-rot of Solanaceae) must now be 

 added the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis), which has been 

 seriously attacked by the disease in various localities of Georgia 

 and Florida, 



" The Ricinus plants wilt in various stages of growth, and 

 often at an early one. Dwarfing is usually the first sign of the 

 disease in the seedling plants. 



" Land on which any of the sommon Solanaceous plants have 

 wilted should not be planted to Ricinus, unless it is known positive- 

 ly that the wilt was not of bacterial origin." 



T. F. C. • 



Manuring of Rice. 



The Agricultural Journal of Egypt, Vol. IX, contains an in- 

 teresting note on the effect of nitrate of soda as a fertiliser for rice. 

 Four plots manured with 8.") kilos of nitrate of soda gave a return 

 of 15010 rotls as compared with 12693 rotls from four untreated 

 control plots. 



T. F. C. 



Vegetable Oil and P>lm Products Industry, 



The following notice appearing in Tro))ical Life March, 1920, 

 may prove of interest to those contemplating planting the Oil Palm 

 in Malaya. 



Tt has been proposed that an Association be formed to advance 

 and safeguard the Vegetable Oil Palm Products Industry. 



