105 



( ' rot aid rid striata is also attacked by a root fungus, but 

 up to the present I have not been able to infect healthy Para 

 rubber from diseased Crotalaria. Planters who have sown 

 Crotalaria should watch their plants carefully and should 

 immediately notify the Department of Agriculture if any 

 die or even look unhealthy. It is extremely important to 

 know the extent of this Crotalaria disease and if Para is 

 immune to it. The symptoms of diseased Crotalaria are 

 much the same as those described for root disease in Para, 

 but of course not so easily noticed. 



Catchcrops. 



Catchcrops still seem in favour with several planters 

 though when we consider the difficulty of selecting a suitable 

 plant, that the extra labour force required is not always 

 available, and that three years is about the limit of ex- 

 ploitation, it is doubtful if they are worth attempting except 

 on estates where an early return of money is desirable. 

 Tapioca if carefully handled appears to do no harm in trees 

 planted at a reasonable distances say 30 feet by 15 feet or 

 25 feet by 15 feet. I have seen a plot of trees of five years 

 old which had been interpl anted with tapioca and had never 

 cost the owner a cent for upkeep. The trees were quite as 

 good as any of the same age Imave seen anywhere. The 

 catchcrop was taken out by Chinese who in turn manured 

 the soil and left the land clean. It was originally covered 

 with lalang — no blukar. The decline in price of tapioca has 

 brought it into disfavour for the moment. Possibly the 

 German tapioca made, according to the "Journal d' Agri- 

 culture Tropicale" of February last, from potatoes and 

 said to exhibit the firmness and whiteness of the best Singa- 

 pore qualities, has affected the price. 



Mr. Stevens has put up machinery to distil Citronella 

 oil on Sungei Landon at Chenderiang: The -experiment 

 will be watched with interest. Citronella and Lemon grass 

 can hardly be looked upon as saving weeding, but planted 

 in rows across hill-sides, as Mr. Stevens has done, they 

 certainly save wash. 



Indigo is grown only by Chinese. Sesamum has been 

 tried successfully by Mr. Palmer of Brieh Estate, but Mr. 

 Salisbury of Padang Rengas finds it unsatisfactory; he 

 says it makes the ground too dirty. 



Musa textilis, a species of banana, better known as 

 "Manila hemp," has been tried successfully by Mr. Vaug- 

 han at Tampin. It has the advantage of yielding a return 



