224 



Hawawii are: a mealy-bug {Pseiidococcus brometiae), a fruit beetle 

 {Carpophilus humeralis), vinegar flies {Drosophila ampelophila and 

 others), and a grasshopper (Xyphidium varipenne). It may be of 

 interest to note that a similar mealy-bug {Pseudococciis sp.) is of 

 common occurrence in Antigua on pine-apples; m.ore rarely a scale 

 insect, probably a species of Diaspis, is found, while different species 

 of mites are numerous; vinegar flies and various grasshoppers are 

 common in the islands ^ienerally. 



The preventive measures suggested by Larsen are : — 



(1) Cutting the fruit with long stems in place of the usual short 

 ones. 



(2) Cutting the fruit bracts at some distance from the stem 

 instead of pulling them off. 



(3) The use of straw for packing material, in preference to 

 excelsior (wood wool). 



(4) Wrapping the fruit in paper. 



(5) Fumigating with formaldehyde gas.' 



It has not yet been determined if the use of this last reagent on 

 a commicrcial scale will be practicable, as recent work by Flora 

 W. Patterson, of the United States Department of Agriculture referred 

 to in the last article, has shown that a concentration of the gas 

 sufficient to kill the spores of the fungus and to prevent rot, produced 

 a slight change in colour and loss of turgidity in the fruit. 



Base Rot of Cuttings : This is another disease due to the 

 fungus Thielaviopsis paradox a. According to the information given 

 in the Bulletin mentioned above, it was found in some instances that 

 many cuttings were killed when newly planted out in the field, and 

 that death was due to a rot which had spread through the heart and 

 the underground portion. A gentle pull would remove the diseased 

 plants from the soil, and would often separate the leafy top from 

 the base. Occasionally, plants were found to have recovered from a 

 slight attack of the rot- These showed indentations near the base, 

 where the tissues had been destroyed. The disease also occurred on 

 crowns or suckers left in bags, or in piles in the fields and on cuttings 

 during shipment. * 



Infection appears to occur principally in tw^o ways, either 

 directly from the fungus present on the surface of the cutting at the 

 time of planting, or by means of the mycelium or spores present in 

 the soil. It was found that the disease was much more prevalent 

 when the weather was dry after planting than when it was wet ; it 

 may be noted that the harm done to cane cuttings by the same 

 fungus is much more noticeable in dry weather than in wet. 



The remedies suggested by Larsen consist of drying the cuttings 

 by placing butt end upwards in the sun for a week; this should be 

 combined with low stripping, that is the removal of as few as 



