26o Transactions British Mycological Society. 



in the future, care must be taken, in fairness to the estabhshed 

 firms, that those persons who grow stocks for a year or two 

 spasmodically are also subject to its provisions. 



There remains to be discussed the best time for carrying out 

 these operations. Whenever a disease is seen, the motto "Do 

 it now" applies with great force to whatever measures may be 

 contemplated. If labour conditions permit, the best time for 

 action on the above lines is during the summer when there is a 

 clear differentiation between healthy and diseased branches. 

 Furthermore, the wounds made by severing branches then have 

 a chance of partly healing before the winter. Action during the 

 early summer is specially important in dealing with silver-leaf, 

 because it is well known that the fructifications of Stereum 

 purpureum are produced in greatest abundance on the dead 

 wood during the latter part of the summer and autumn. While 

 pruning and thinning out are taking place during the winter a 

 second opportunity is afforded of dealing with some of the pests 

 which have been briefly mentioned. If, however, labour con- 

 ditions do not permit of cutting out dead wood during the 

 summer, excision must be left until the autumn and winter. 



In large areas of fruit there is a great deal to be said for 

 placing the operations of plant sanitation, spraying, and 

 pruning in the hands of an expert with a gang of men under 

 him. The expert is often anathema to the practical man, but 

 the time seems to have come in large market fruit-gardens, 

 when there is a great deal to be said in favour of a division of 

 labour, the respective portions of the work being in charge of 

 men of special training. In districts where small fruit planta- 

 tions are the rule, much might be done in the same way by 

 co-operative effort. In the case of the rubber plantations of 

 the East — of which I happen to have some knowledge — there 

 is upon every estate of importance what is known as a pest gang 

 whose sole duty is to watch for and treat disease as soon as it 

 appears. This pest gang is either officered or supervised by a 

 European under whom are one or more intelligent natives who 

 direct the coolies as to what is to be done. In the tropics, 

 sanitary measures of the same kind as those outlined above, are 

 considered of the greatest possible importance, and one of the 

 chief anxieties of the managers of these estates is in seeing that 

 the pest gang is adequately doing its work. Of course most of 

 these rubber estates are much larger than fruit gardens in this 

 country — many of them exceed looo acres, but so important 

 is the question of combating disease now considered to be, that 

 some of the largest estates emplo}^ a fully trained plant patho- 

 logist in an advisory capacity, in addition to the Government 

 staff which is always available. As stated above, there is much 



