THF. BUD-ROT OF PALMS IN INDIA. 267 



not, it was estimated, be considerable. It was suggested that the 

 first return visit should be made a month from the completion of 

 the first operations, and three or four months later any subsequent 

 infections should be removed. As Coringa Firka took altogether 

 nearly four months for one party to work through once, it was clear 

 that further staff was required for the secondary operations. 



The chief difficulty was found to be that of securing that a really 

 careful search should be made for diseased trees. The village officers 

 were very unreliable in this respect and it was difficult to impress 

 on the executive staf! the vital importance of not letting a single 

 diseased tree escape. It was, and has been up to date, necessary to 

 struggle constantly with the tendency of the Revenue Inspectors 

 to settle down in a village, cut the trees in its immediate vicinity, 

 and leave the surrounding country unexplored. 



Little attempt was made in the beginning to secure the co-oper- 

 ation of the villagers themselves. From the middle of 1907 con- 

 siderable efforts were made in this direction. A vernacular pamph- 

 let was distributed broadcast throughout the whole of the infected 

 area, and the permanent staff were constantly urged to use every 

 opportunity for securing independent action. The results were, 

 it must be admitted, most disappointing. Owners of coconut gar- 

 dens in many places cut out their dead trees, but would not do so as 

 long as there was any chance of getting a crop. Very few palmy- 

 ras have been cut by the cultivators themselves. The apathy of 

 the Indian cultivator in such matters is too well known to need com- 

 ment. 



It was found advisable to abandon the treatment of healthy 

 palms with Bordeaux mixture. It was thought wise to concentrate 

 all efforts on tlie cutting out and burning of diseased tops, since 

 this was likely to give the surest results and a larger area was likely 

 to be freed from infective matter in a given time. The chief reason, 

 however, was that the treatment with Bordeaux mixture appealed 

 much more to the imagination of the ryots than the destruction of 

 diseased palms, owing to their natural antipathy to destroying any- 



