'954 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XNI. 



fogs, when there is usually little rain. A distinct diminution in 

 the mortality is observable in a good many instances after the ces- 

 sation of the monsoon, followed by the cold weather recrudescence. 

 This is not general, since a few cases can be cjuoted where no 

 diminution after the rains occurred." 



In its earlier stages the disease is usually confined to the large 

 fleshy leaf-sheaths which encircle the apex of the palm. As the 

 outermost of these are exposed to light and air and, consequently, 

 brown and dry, and moreover partially hidden by the cut bases of 

 older leaves, it is not possible to detect the spots on the outer 

 sheaths in standing trees. In such cases the first indication visi- 

 ble is the withering of the central shoot or of one of the expanded 

 leaves. In certain cases the parasite also occurs on the leaf-blades 

 and even on the petioles, and sometimes the top of the stem is also 

 affected. " The spots on the leaf-sheaths varjr much in size, from 

 only just visible to six inches or more across. In the inner sheaths 

 thej^ are white at first, becoming brown or reddish later on. On 

 the outer sheaths they may eventually be black. X xqxj early 

 result of the attack is the collapse of affected cells, which leads to 

 the spots being sunk below the level of the surface of the rest of 

 the sheath. The margin of the depression is usually bounded by 

 a raised rim. The early spots are dry and hard and may either be 

 quite free from any external parasitic growth or covered with a 

 white mycelial web. Later on, particularly^ in the soft heart of the 

 bud, the diseased areas are invaded by numbers of saprophytic 

 organisms, bacteria, moulds and insect larvte, and the whole is 

 converted into a foul-smelling rotten mass. On the leaf-blades 

 the spots are usually smaller than on the sheaths, not ofteA exceed- 

 ing an inch in diameter on individual segments. They are 

 straw-coloured in the centre and bounded by a broad dark-brown 

 margin." 



The body of the fungus consists of hj^phaB forming a nwcelium, 

 which may be entirely buried in the palm tissue or may be partly 

 superficial, where it frequently develops a thick white felt over the 

 disease-spots. The hyphse measure on an average 5-8/^. They 

 are unseptate except in rare cases, especially near where the organs 

 of reproduction are formed. Within the tissues they occur in the 



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