Mahcii 31, 190.3.] 



SCIENCE. 



501 



the occurrence of a bacterial bud rot of the 

 coconut in Jamaica. The writer has since 

 heard of its occurrence on the mainland in 

 Central America, so that it may be assumed 

 to occur all round the Caribbean. It was 

 studied by the writer at Baracoa, Mata and 

 Yumuri in eastern Cuba in April, 1904. 



The disease has made decided advances 

 since it was studied by Mr. Busck in 1901, 

 especially at Llata, and if it continues to 

 spread as it has done during the past ten 

 years it will inevitably destroy the coconut 

 industry of the island, and that, too, within 

 the next ten or fifteen years. Already 

 many of the planters are discouraged and 

 not setting any more trees, since it now at- 

 tacks trees of all ages, including quite 

 young ones and those on the hills as Avell 

 as those close to the sea. The disease is 

 frequently known as 'the fever,' and often 

 one sees where the bases of the trunks have 

 been scorched with an idea of preventing 

 the development of the disease. The dis- 

 ease is not lodged in the roots, however, 

 nor in the stem. These in all cases ap- 

 peared to be sound. The general symptoms 

 are the yellowing and fall of the outer 

 leaves, the shedding of the nuts, and some 

 months later the death of the whole crown. 

 The cause of this decline is not apparent 

 until the tree is felled and the crown of 

 leaves removed, including the wrappings of 

 the strong terminal bud. The latter is 

 then found to be the seat of the disease. 

 This bud with its wrappings of young and 

 tender leaves is found to be involved in the 

 vilest sort of a bacterial soft rot— not un- 

 like that of a decaying cabbage or potato, 

 but smelling much worse, the stench re- 

 sembling that of a slaughter-house. This 

 rot, invisible until the numerous outer leaf- 

 base wrappings are removed, often involves 

 a diameter of several inches of soft tissues 

 and a length of three or four feet, including 

 flower buds and the whole of some of the 

 soft fleshy Avhite undeveloped leaves cov- 



ering the bud and forming the so-called 

 'cabbage' of the palm. The rot stops very 

 promptly with the harder tissues of the 

 palm stem immediately under the bud and 

 does not attack any of the developed leaves. 

 It is a disease of the undeveloped tissues. 

 When the tree is felled and opened up, 

 carrion flies and vultures are promptly at- 

 tracted by the horrible smell. Fly larvae 

 and various fungi were found in the parts 

 most exposed to the air and longest dis- 

 eased, but the advancing margin of the 

 decay was occupied only by bacteria, of 

 which there appeared to be several sorts. 

 No yellow or green fluorescent bacteria 

 were obtained from the rotting tissues. All 

 were white organisms of the 'soft-rot' type, 

 mostly plump short rods with rounded 

 ends, but occasionally longer rods, all ap- 

 parently gas producers. One of the com- 

 monest sorts formed round dense creamy 

 white opalescent colonies on agar. Another 

 formed thin gray-white iridescent colonies 

 on agar. A terminal spore-bearing, teta- 

 nus-like organism was also often abund- 

 ant in the decayed tissues, even close to 

 the advancing margin of the rot, and this 

 is probably an anaerobe as it was not ob- 

 tained in any of the many cultures. 



The picture of one diseased tree will 

 answer for many. No fungi or insect in- 

 juries were found Avhich could in the least 

 account for the death of the trees. The 

 disease is the result of a bacterial rot of 

 the terminal bud and its wrappings, in- 

 cluding the flower buds. The bacteria 

 probably find their entrance through 

 wounds of some sort, and their distribution 

 is undoubtedly favored by carrion crea- 

 tures. The larva found deepest down in 

 the rotting tissues was that of the common 

 scavenger fly, Hermetia illucens L. Oc- 

 casionally the crown of a tree was found 

 yellow from other causes, but if the young- 

 est visible leaf (projecting five or six feet) 

 was observed to be lopped over and wilting 



