: of this branch of the 

 >r too forcibly preached. 



My experience of nearly ten years' investigation of and fighting 

 with diseases of cultivated plants in the tropics leads me to the 

 belief that the policy of waiting to shut the stable door until the 

 horsp hac fr^no \c o+;n „„* i ,i , 



and practical planter. 



Lai even with the most capable 



Pests, both fungal and insect, must come in every cultivation, 

 and no plant, however vigorous or with the most perfect 

 conditions for its growth, can be considered as not liable to 

 contract some disease. These occasional deaths of plants may, 

 if unattended to, eventually cause most serious loss. 



The scientific officers of the department can be of much help 

 to agriculture in the direction of investigation of diseases in 

 cultivated plants with a view to their prevention and cure. 

 Unfortunately the importance of the plant doctor is not yet 

 recognised as fully as that of the medical man or veterinary 



JEn I ? i? *? ? great extent because the fact is not realised 



that all lack of health or vigour is due in plants, just as in man 

 to specific causes either of environment or to the attacks of 

 msects, fungi or bacteria. The past history of plant doctoring 

 is not entirely a succession of triumphs over disease, but it com- 

 pares very- favourably with the results obtained in human 

 medicine, and should by this time have secured the confidence of 

 Planter, farmer and gardener. 



mn,t In ,°i de ^ that the tec hnical knowledge of the officials maybe 

 5" llS f n IS important' that early information as to the 

 outbreak of any pes t is sent to the department, and specimens 

 Wr.^ 8 ? ° f thG disease > with as much information as the 

 the^ n f uT^ lVeils to the first si g" s ' the conditions of 

 the field, if well drained or with water very near the surface, the 



1)rp r .V " uiamea or with water very near the surface, the 

 ge ot the trees attacked, whether the disease was noticed first in 

 aH other 6 K f at d,fferent ^ntres, how quickly it has spread, and 

 tnon Jh V ,bservatlons which have been made. A full letter eye" 

 though it contains some things that may seen trivial and of lit* 

 SSh»?f T, h F Gater "dp than the sending of a short note 

 of t I af and the re quest " I am sending you a specimen 



it k flf? noticed on my rubber, will you let me know rf 



milt I t0 he J™°™ and what measures I should take to 

 prevent its spreading." 



Distance of Trees in Planting. 

 Dlemv^^ have be S Un see the value of giving their tj** 

 is in /°/ m ' and the argument that to plant more trees t h * 

 1^]°^ keep has been seen to. be both 

 fallacious and dangerous. Fallacious, because with pr.ces at 5* 



