463 



dug up the bark is decayed but there is no mycelium on the outside. 

 Beneath the bark, however, black or red flattened strands are to be 

 seen running over the surface of the wood, at first red outside and 

 white inside, but as the root decays they decay, too, and turn black. 



The mycelium enters the smaller roots and creeping up to the big 

 roots spreads out in this manner. 



The fructification is very smaller and of tw^o kinds, the Conidial 

 form is consisting of short red stalks with white globose heads Y2 to 

 ^ of an inch tall, and an ascigerous form of small cone shaped bodies 

 on the mycelium strands. 



This fungus was first found on Jack-trees obviously as a sapro- 

 phyte, but it has also been found as a parasite on rhizomes of arrowroot. 

 As it develops freely on Jackwood, even on chips, it is necessary to 

 destroy all stumps of such trees and remove the bits left during cut- 

 ting up. Gocd figures are given of this fungus. We have not yet 

 heard of the pest yet in the Malay peninsula but a lookout should be 

 kept for it.— Ed. 



SUGAR PLANTING IN NEGROS. 



The Sugar industry of the island of Negros in the Philippine is- 

 lands forms the subject of an extensive monograph by Herbert S. 

 Walker, of the Government Sugar Laboratory of lloilo. There have 

 been, it appears, at least two large voUnnes on the Sugar industry 

 here published, but these official reports, it is said are, full of exag- 

 gerated conjectures and estimates so as to be valueless. The present 

 monograph has been written from carefully compiled statistics with 

 analyses, and accurate information obtained from planters and others 

 throughout the islands. The author spent 6 months on the island of 

 Negros taking with him a portable laboratory for the analyses of the 

 canes, sugar and products of the mill and analyses of soil were also 

 made and add to our information on the subject. Negros produces 

 a very large proportion of the Sugar made in the Philippines from 

 forty to fifty per cent, of the whole output. In 1893 the island pro- 

 duced 115,000 metric tons out of 300,000 produced by the whole 

 Archipelago. It has the advantage too of being remarkably free from 

 sugar pests, the only fungus met with was Ustilago Sacchari of which 

 there was an outbreak in 1908, but which was easily dealt with. A 

 beetle attacking the roots, a moth whose caterpillar bored the stem 

 and a coccid are practically the only insect-pests, and seem not to be 

 very troublous. 



At present the planter grows and manufactures his sugar and 

 puts it on the market himself, but it is pointed out that much ad- 

 vantage is to be derived from having central mills which would take 

 the cane from the planter and manufacture the sugar, so that the 

 planter would be able to devote his whole time to the cultivation and 



