102 DISEASES AND THEIR CUBE 



wise these may serve to harbour other pests which 

 may become destructive. The felling and destroying 

 of diseased trees is undoubtedly an expensive 

 process, but the neglect of these precautions may 

 make all the difference between a trifling loss of 

 trees and money and a serious epidemic." 



Root disease, the origin of which is at present 

 unknown, only attacks trees that have commenced 

 to bear, its symptoms resembling somewhat those 

 of bud rot. The leaves are the first to reveal its 

 presence, for they begin to wilt and then turn 

 yellow, the change manifesting itself first at the 

 tips and afterwards extending all over the leaflets. 

 Finally the latter dry up, blacken and sometimes 

 hang down from the cabbage, though frequently 

 the leaves do not hang down, but the petioles or 

 sheathing bases break across, leaving the sheathing 

 portion on the trunk, while the expanded portion 

 either falls to the ground or hangs down. The West 

 Indian Government mycologist states that usually 

 the outermost ring of leaves is the first to be 

 affected, though a middle ring often becomes 

 wilted and yellow first, while the leaves outside and 

 inside it are green. Once the yellowing of the leaves 

 has taken place, the diseased trees usually shed 

 most if not all of their nuts, irrespective of their 

 age, while the flowers subsequently produced do 

 not set. Finally the terminal bud rots and falls over, 

 when the tree dies. The earlier symptoms resemble 



