59 
The precautions in tree surgery are to cut into live tissue 
and to cover with a material that will not let in air and 
water. ‘Trees that are sickly and bear but a few pods should 
be renewed. hat is, a water sprout should be allowed 
to grow up and the old trunk should be cut off. In doing 
that it is not alone possible to renew the tree in a couple 
of years but is is also possible to change it into a desirable 
variety. A water sprout after it attains the size of an 
inch or so can be budded or it may be inarched by taking 
a potted plant that has been previously inarched and setting 
it close to the young sprout, searify the two plants on one 
side and tie them together in the usual way. 
The old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound 
of cure’, is absolutely true in plantation sanitation. As a 
matter of fact the ordinary remedies for fungus or bacterial 
diseases do not cure, they merely prevent spread. A copper 
solution, such as Bordeaux mixture, dves not kill the my- 
celium or part of the fungi in the tissue, it merely kills the 
spores on the surface and prevents new ones from germi- 
nating as long as there is a particle of copper left. ‘There- 
fore spraying is not the first resort. All dead and diseased 
wood, bark and pods must be cut off and burned or buried. 
After that spraying with Bordeaux mixture may prevent 
new attacks. However, with proper methods of planting, 
cultivating and fertilizing, the spray pumps will be less 
needed and cacao growing will be more profitable. 
