Diseases 253 



(2) Leaf Disease, investigated in Trinidad, 

 and apparently very similar to a disease re- 

 ported from Java. 



(3) .Bud-rot, found in Trinidad, and also 

 doubtless in British Guiana, Jamaica and 

 Cuba. At the last-named centre it is being care- 

 fully investigated, as it has occasioned wide- 

 spread damage. 



Trees which only present external signs of 

 disease to the casual observer show that the 

 roots are probably the parts which first become 

 affected. An attack of root disease is gener- 

 ally first shown by the leaves. They show a 

 slightly wilted appearance, then turn yellow, 

 first at the tips and then gradually all over 

 the leaflets. After the yellowing of the leaves, 

 trees bearing a good crop of nuts, as a rule, 

 gradually shed most if not all of them, irre- 

 spective of their size and state of maturity, 

 and the flowers subsequently produced do not 

 set. 1 The local conditions of the soil, however, 

 must be considered before a tree can definitely 

 be declared diseased, as its appearance also 

 suggests lack of water ; and trees struggling 



1 It is worth noting that none of the books which we 

 have received give any idea as to how long it takes for 

 a nut to come to perfection. We believe that nine 

 months is about the minimum time between pollination 

 and maturity. Eighteen months is the usual time 

 elapsing between the appearance of a leaf and the 

 maturing of the subtending nut. Flowers (on the coco- 

 nut palm) do not open until more than six months after 

 the first appearance of the subtending leaf. 



