276 SPICES 



CHAP. 



in their distribution, they have the power in suitable 

 surroundings to increase in enormous quantities. Mr. 

 Barber in his report (published in Planting Opinion, 

 1903, p. 619) says : " I have never seen such a remark- 

 able series of tumours in plant tissues as those lately 

 met with in the infected plants of the Wynaad." When 

 the tumour decays it is not easy to detect the remains 

 of the eel-worms, but some at least of the cankers 

 have been proved to be due to eel- worms. In one of 

 the plain gardens near Calicut " there had been twenty 

 vines. Five died last year, five are moribund, while the 

 remaining ten are attacked." " It would be wise, when 

 an attack of this sort is met with, to carefully collect all 

 the nodules formed on the roots and underground stems 

 and to burn them. The hole should on no account be 

 planted again for many years." To get rid of the pest 

 in such soil, Mr. Barber suggests the planting of the 

 goat weed or white weed (Ageratum conyzoides). 

 This universal weed, generally held in horror by planters, 

 is very attractive to the eel-worm. Planted in the 

 abandoned hole it will attract the eel-worms to its 

 roots, and after a time it can be pulled up and burnt. 

 By repeating this process the eel-worms might be 

 cleared out. 



In 1903 Mr. Barber devoted a fortnight to investigat- 

 ing the cause of disease in the pepper plantations of 

 the South Wynaad. After some years of phenomenal 

 success many of the vines were found to be dying out. 

 A number of diseases were met with, but there was no 

 one universally found. The plants were extremely 

 liable to cankerous growths, and in some cases severe 

 attacks of eel- worms were met with. In certain vines 

 a hyphal infestation was found throughout the fibro- 

 vascular bundles, but the presence of the fungus did 

 not appear to have any relation to the relative sickness 

 of the vines. 



In his report (Planting Opinion, 1903, p. 618) he 

 goes more fully into the three diseases noted, viz. 

 canker, eel-worm, and hyphae in the vessels. 



