COCONUT INDUSTRY IN WEST INDIES in 



of them are of considerable importance, but the 

 fourth, only when the trees have become un- 

 healthy from other causes. The diseases are : 

 bud rot, root disease, bleeding stem, and leaf 

 disease. With the exception of root disease, 

 they may be expected to appear on trees of all 

 ages from four years upward. To a casual 

 observer, trees suffering from any of these 

 diseases have much the same appearance. The 

 leaves look yellow and sickly, and the outer 

 ones often hang down round the trunk, while in 

 some cases the tips of the leaflets may be broken 

 and hang downward. Such leaflets are dry and 



freyish in appearance, and are attached to un- 

 ealthy leaves. When trees are clearly in ill 

 health and present the general appearance de- 

 scribed above, the question arises as to what is 

 the cause of the disease, and what is to be done 

 to improve the condition of the trees and 

 prevent the spread of infection. They should 

 be examined for indications of the presence of 

 any of the four fungoid diseases, a description of 

 whose general symptoms and treatment follows. 



Bud Rot. On examining an unhealthy tree 

 affected with bud rot, it is usually found that 

 the young central leaves are standing upright 

 and not unfolding as they should; soon after- 

 wards they turn yellow and then brown, while 

 the whole cabbage or central bud has an un- 

 healthy appearance. Sometimes the drying up 

 of the central shoots cannot be observed until 



