NUTMEGS AND MACE 135 



moulds. This is found on both surfaces of the leaf in 

 the form of more or less rounded patches, which may run 

 together, covering the leaf to a considerable extent. In 

 the one which occurs on the nutmeg, the black mycelium 

 forms a much -branched network, and has a knotted 

 appearance under the lens, caused by an abundance 

 of short rounded branchlets. The fruit generally found 

 towards the centre of the mycelium patch is in the form 

 of minute globular sessile balls. A very similar plant 

 grows on Stephanotis. 



These soot-moulds are usually stated to occur only 

 on the excreta of one of the coccids, or scale -[insects, 

 and to be harmless to the plant. In the case of the one 

 on the nutmeg leaves, I have found no trace of insects 

 on the leaves at all. 



Eutypa erumpens, Massee. This fungus is reported 

 as causing the death of nutmeg trees as well as cocos 

 and other trees in Trinidad and Grenada. It is probably 

 a wound parasite. It forms irregular black patches on 

 the bark, varying in size from \ in. to 2 in. across. The 

 patches have a dull rough surface, in which the perithecia 

 of fungus are sunken, and only the ostioles project ; they 

 are short and beak-shaped. The asci are club-shaped, 

 8-spored, and borne on long stalks. The spores are 

 unicellular and transparent (Bull. Agric., Trinidad, 

 1909, p. 61 ; West Indian Bulletin, *. 3, p. 243). 



The Eutypas have a habit of not appearing in the 

 fruiting stage until after the tree is quite dead, sometimes 

 not for a week or more. Nothing can be done when a 

 tree trunk is badly attacked to save it, but the disease 

 should not be allowed to spread by having dead trunks 

 or branches about the estate, so that the fungus can 

 develop its spores and infect other plants. All dead 

 wood should be removed and burnt. 



FRUIT GANGRENE 



This disease of the nutmeg fruit is due to a fungus 

 which attacks the husk and produces an opening of 



