Appendix. 277 



that the disease manifested itself, that the leaves became 

 yellow and fell off in great quantities, and on the trunks or 

 stems near and sometimes beneath the ground the bark 

 opened, and drops or tears of yellow gum exuded, and hence 

 the disease was called lagrima, from the Portuguese word for 

 tears." 



NOTE. This orange disease of the Azores appears to have 

 been studied and its history become known. An effectual 

 remedy has been applied, a great part of which appears to 

 have been common sense, and rational treatment of a tree so 

 responsive to human care and attention. There would 

 appear to be a curious notion that plants can be maltreated to 

 any extent, and still go on living and producing money for 

 their owners for ever. 



The people of the Azores gave " no care, no attention, no 

 labour, save that of picking and packing the fruit." Natur- 

 ally " without manure, without draining, and may be without 

 pruning " the original fertility of the soil was exhausted, and 

 the trees sickened and died. The inference is that the people 

 richly deserved what they got the destruction of a fine 

 industry, the far famed St. Michael's oranges. The people 

 danced and amused themselves while the orange-trees bore 

 fruit. The same probably happened in Ceylon with respect 

 to coffee. The planters amused themselves while a million 

 hundredweight of coffee-beans were extracted from the soil 

 and exported. The planters awoke one day to find their 

 coffee industry destroyed. Probably similar causes have 

 destroyed the vine and potato industries in other places, 

 viz., too much reliance on the original fertility of the soil, 

 with the hope that it may prove inexhaustible. All these 

 histories of ruined industries are very instructive lessons to 

 those who can profit by them. 



No. 33. 



Mr. Vaz, Chief Engineer of the s.s. Chanda, B. I. S. N. Co., 

 told me that "in 1873 he went with Mr. H. O. Hume to the 

 Nicobar Islands. On one island he saw growing in a wild 

 state sweet oranges, of which he gathered two basketsful and 



