58 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 706 



estimated at two million nuts monthly (in- 

 cluding those fed to animals), whereas it was 

 formerly estimated at three million monthly. 

 The decrease is due to bud-rot. 



Much work has been done on this trouble 

 in the British West Indies, where the destruc- 

 tion of sick trees and the use of Bordeaux 

 mixture as a preventive have given good 

 results. 



Considerable attention has also been given 

 to the bud-rot by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, which, at the request of 

 the planters, sent Mr. Wm. Busck to Baracoa 

 to investigate the disease in 1901. The 

 measures which he recommended are sub- 

 stantially the same as those which are now 

 to be carried out. The results of his work are 

 given in Bulletin No. 38, Division of Ento- 

 mology, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

 In the spring of 1904, Dr. Erwin F. Smith, of 

 the TJ. S. Department of Agriculture, spent 

 some time in Cuba studying the disease. Mr. 

 Busck had regarded it as caused by a fungus, 

 Pestalozzia, palmarum, but Dr. Smith re- 

 garded it as a bacterial rot. The results of 

 Dr. Smith's work are given in Science, N. S., 

 Vol. XXL, No. 535, p. 500, March 31, 1905. 

 During the past year his investigations have 

 been continued at Baracoa and other West 

 Indian coconut-producing points. 



The subject has been written on largely by 

 Cuban authorities, notable among whom is 

 Dr. Carlos de la Torre, of the University of 

 Havana; and the Department of Vegetable 

 Pathology of the Estacion Central Agro- 

 nomica de Cuba has given it as much atten- 

 tion as possible among many other problems 

 during nearly four years, but without being 

 able thus far to reproduce the disease at 

 will. 



The work for which the appropriation has 

 just been made by the Cuban government is 

 in continuation of investigations undertaken 

 by the Cuban Department of Agriculture 

 through the Estacion Central Agronomica in 

 March, 1907. At this time Mr. Wm. T. 

 Home, chief of the Department of Vegetable 

 Pathology of the Estacion Central Agro- 

 nomica, was sent to Baracoa to study means 



of eradicating the disease and during the sum- 

 mer he made three other visits. The trouble 

 was found widely distributed and progressing 

 at an alarming rate. The principal work 

 done was the treatment of several small groves 

 with the most thorough sanitation possible — 

 i. e., dead and hopelessly sick trees were 

 felled and burned, while new eases and sus- 

 pected trees were flamed out. In two of the 

 groves which were treated the disease was 

 passing across, killing every tree in its path. 

 The work showed that all trees with fairly 

 well developed cases die. It was thought that 

 some very early cases were saved by the 

 flaming; at least the disease was checked. It 

 was not stamped out in the groves, but the 

 results were as satisfactory as could have been 

 expected in decreasing the infection. 



The work now to be undertaken is prob- 

 ably the most extensive measure ever adopted 

 to control the bud-rot of coconuts and it is 

 most sincerely to be hoped that this aid from 

 the general government will sufficiently sui)- 

 press the disease so that by a vigorous system 

 of inspections it may be thoroughly and per- 

 manently held in check. 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



REGARDrNG THE FUTURE OF THE GUANO INDUSTRY 



AND THE GUANO-PRODUCING BIRDS OF PERU^ 



To the people of Peru the importance of the 

 guano industry needs no emphasis, but it is 

 well, first, to make clear just what is the 

 alarming condition with which the country is 

 confronted, and what is the object to be 

 striven for. 



Every one knows that the great ancient 

 deposits of guano are now almost non-existent. 

 As these deposits have been successively ex- 

 hausted of various high grades, there is now 

 left only the lowest grades that it is profitable 

 to extract, and also some supplies of such very 

 low grade that under present conditions they 

 are not marketable. However, the birds are 



' The present paper, very slightly modified from 

 a report recently submitted to the Peruvian gov- 

 ernment and published ofiBcially in Spanish, is 

 presented in English with the kind permission of 

 Sr. Larrabure y Correa, Director de Fomento in 

 Lima. 



