Diseases 263 



urges, as was done in " Soil and Plant Sani- 

 tation," l that all planters should combine to 

 keep their estates clean, for one careless planter 

 can become a permanent source of infection to 

 his neighbours, and spread disease all round. 2 



When mycelium undoubtedly exists in the 

 soil, such affected areas should be isolated by 

 cutting trenches, 12 in. to 18 in. deep, round 

 them, even including apparently healthy trees 

 within the entrenched area. As with fomes 

 semitostus on rubber estates, all the soil must 

 be thrown within the diseased portion, and left 

 to the destructive action of the sun, aided, as 

 suggested, by a bonfire perhaps, made to burn 

 low and smoulder, to avoid scorching the tree. 

 Some lime scattered over the turned-up soil and 

 in the trench would do no harm and might be 

 an advantage. 



In spite of all that is said, and, at times, with 

 reason, about the disadvantages of catch-crops, 



1 Price us. post free. Tropical Life Publishing 

 Department. 



2 The Malay Mail of January 31, 1912, discussed this 

 question both for rubber and coco-nuts. Mr. Main, at the 

 annual meeting of the Malacca Planters Association, 

 on January 28, urged that the Government should be 

 asked to appoint an inspector of rubber, in the same 

 way as they had appointed one for coco-nuts, and that 

 certain penalties should be inflicted on planters who 

 failed to cut out and destroy diseased trees. The 

 discussion that followed, and reports from elsewhere, 

 show that plant-disease inspectors, the same as city 

 sanitary inspectors, should be appointed at all large 

 producing centres. 



