5 
rot and finally the central leaf bud rots and the entire top falls 
away. Such trees are often pointed out by the planters as hav- 
ing been struck by lightning. Others attribute the death of the 
trees to a large borer said to work from the trunk up into the 
bud. Inthe numerous cases examined death was not due to 
either of these causes. The head of the tree was in all cases in- 
vaded by what seems to be a bacterial rot. The organism devel- 
ops in the sweet, slimy coating found on all the young protected 
organs. It eats into the sheathing bases of the petioles and 
attacks the flowering sheaths. As the spathe grows the surface 
becomes cracked and the disease reaches the soft flower buds 
through these cracks. Finally it reaches the “ cabbage” or cen- 
tral growing point, which it soon reduces to an offensive rotten 
mass. The top now falls away leaving a circle of the lower 
leaves that had matured before the tree was attacked. These 
persist for a time but of course finally die also as the tree has no 
power of branching or of producing a new growing point. The 
means by which the contagion is conveyed from tree to tree could 
not be determined nor could any estimate be formed of the time 
elapsing between infectionand the deathofthe tree. Numerous cul- 
tures were secured and the study of the disease will be continued. 
At Port Antonio the petioles and midribs of the leaves of some 
of the diseased trees were found to be invaded by a parasite that 
caused the browning and death of the tissues. This petiole dis- 
ease was found on some trees that did not as yet show signs of 
the bud trouble. Whether or not the two troubles are caused 
by the same organism can only be determined by the further 
study of the cultures that were secured. 
From our present imperfect knowledge of this disease it is im- 
possible to suggest aremedy. Remedial measures, or rather suc- 
cessful preventive measures would probably depend on the method 
by which the disease is conveyed from tree to tree. This can 
only be determined by careful and prolonged field study. The 
importance of the industry involved would fully justify the ex- 
penditure and effort necessary to obtain a complete understanding 
of this disease. The necessity for the destruction of the contagion 
by the prompt cutting and burning of all infected trees is shown 
