TOBACCO 275 



of marketable leaves than they otherwise would have 

 done, but they finally succumbed to the disease. 



The ways in which infection is produced were carefully 

 studied, as a result of which it was possible to issue a 

 number of instructions for use in actual practice. A 

 broadly conceived bacteriological investigation of the soil 

 is now proceeding, from which it ds hoped to obtain a 

 clearer comprehension of the differences between healthy 

 and slime-diseas'ed lands, the appearance and the virulence 

 of the bacteria, etc. 



An immune variety is being sought for by obtaining at a 

 number of affected places self j fertilized seed from plants 

 which have remained healthy. As it was thought possible 

 that a cross capable of resisting the slime-disease bacteria 

 might be obtainable, a large number of foreign tobaccos 

 have been tested with regard to their fitness in this 

 respect. All these appeared to be just as little or even 

 less proof against it as the Deli tobacco. 



This disease has been found in a number of native 

 plants, both cultivated and wild. 



Another bacterial disease is the black rust, caused by 

 Bacterium pseudoglocse, a treatise on which by Dr. 

 Honing appeared recently in the Bulletin of the Deli 

 Testing Station. 



Phytophthora nicotians? chiefly attacks the seed-beds 

 in Deli ; on growing tobacco it is of little or no import- 

 ance, with the exception of some isolated cases, when it 

 may appear on the ripening leaves. 



It has been the general practice for the last twenty 

 years to water the nursery beds with bouillie bordelaise ; 

 lately it has been usual to dissolve the lime and the 

 sulphate of copper in water, and to keep each separately 

 in tightly closed bottles to prevent mistakes being made 

 by the coolies in slaking the lime, etc. 



Mosaic disease, which is chiefly spread by direct 

 transfer from one plant to another, is being fought by 

 omitting o>n the threatened estates the planting out of 

 the seedlings, by protecting the seed-beds against the 

 attacks of caterpillars by means of klamboes, which 

 obviates the necessity of examining and touching the 

 seedlings, and by keeping the caterpillars under control 

 by the application of the above-mentioned insecticides. 



