93 



work is not yet complete. Practically all infected estates have been 

 visited at least once, often, more frequently, and have been given 

 advice as to treatment of the disease. 



The black line disease, Ustulina zonata, being comparatively 

 new, has given planters some trouble and many have asked the 

 inspecting officers to visit their estates and given advice about it. 

 It is now fairly well known and on many estates the removal of all 

 timber, especially thinned |out rubber stumps and trunks, is being 

 carried out on all the older fields. The question is under 

 consideration as to whether the inspecting staff ought not to use 

 its powers to reqaire the removal of at least all dead rubber wood 

 from all estates in the interest of the industry as a whole. This 

 treatment would apply also to the other root disease of older rubber, 

 Porta hypolaterita, about which advice is often asked. 



White ants, Fomes, Sphserostilbe repens, die-back, drying up of 

 latex and various bark troubles all give rise to requests for advice 

 from time to time and inspecting officers ai"e more and more 

 frequently asked to visit estates to advise on the treatment of one 

 disease or another. 



Recently, that is from the middle of 1916 to date, much atten- 

 tion has been given to two bark diseases. The first is the " black 

 stripe" also known in Perak as "cambium rot," first found in 

 Perak North. The Assistant Agricultural Inspector, Perak North, 

 has, I believe, determined its distribution on estates fairly fully in his 

 portion of the State and is also assisting the Mycologist with experi- 

 ments to determine its treatment. This disease, occurring as it does 

 on renewing bark is a very important one, and work on its distribu- 

 tion in other States has been commenced. It is known to occur here 

 and there in Selangor in the districts of Kuala Selangor, Klang and 

 Ulu Langat and in the Raub and Kuantan districts of Pahang. So 

 far it has probably been recorded from the Negri Sembilan only on 

 one estate, as it seems preferable to consider the bark disease known 

 there on several other estates to be different, since it exhibits certain 

 differences in symptoms and may not be due to the same fungus. 



The second bark disease referred to is this form found in the 

 Negri Sembilan. Its distribution on estates has been fairly fully 

 determined by the Assistant Agricultui'al Inspector, Selangor, and 

 the Assistant Agricultural Inspector, Negri Sembilan. On the 

 suggestion of the management tapping was stopped on one area in 

 which this disease occux^red. 



Census of Coconut Trees. 

 It may be mentioned in passing that a full census of coconut 

 trees on small holdings has been nearly completed by the inspecting 

 officers and that the advisability of making a census of rubber 

 holdings to show ages and trees is under consideration. 



