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tree  will  go  on  as  usual.  The  rubber  tree,  gentlemen,  has  a 
wonderful  power  of  growing  and  producing  new  tissues.  Too  much 
importance  cannot  be  attached  to  this  gang  inspection.  When- 
ever the  bark  of  the  tree  is  rough,  and  has  a larger  corky  layer 
than  the  average  bark  I find  that  where  you  scrape  the  bark  there 
is  no  disadvantage  to  the  living  tissues  of  the  tree  and  it  seems 
probable  that  they  are  even  stimulated  by  this  treatment  and  the 
am.ount  of  latex  increased.  With  regard  to  the  production  of  an 
abnormal  or  corky  bark  it  would  be  well  to  groom  it  and  see 
whether  there  is  any  unhealthy  tissue  right  behind.  There  is  one 
thing  that  I ought  to  have  touched  on,  viz.,  with  regard  to  the 
scare  raised  by  people  which  your  Chairman  has  referred  to  ; and 
in  this  connection  soine  people  seemed  to  be  scared  on  observing 
rubber  trees  in  .some  places  dropping  their  leaves. 
This  dropping  of  leaves  and  even  branches  I think  is  due  to 
climatic  or  unforeseen  reasons.  During  the  short  time  I was  in  this 
district  I saw  trees  which  had  previously  dropped  their  leaves  and 
had  dead  branches  on  them  recovering,  producing  buds,  and  push- 
ing on.  1 am  quite  certain  that  this  nectria  fungus  was  not  res- 
ponsible for  the  abnormal  dropping  of  leaf  and  drying  of  certain 
branches.  This  is  a question  which  I should  wish  to  have  gone 
into  rather  more  fully,  but  you  will  understand  that,  when  one  has 
something  in  hand  to  deal  with,  it  is  better  to  devote  one’s  atten- 
tion solely  to  the  point  in  question.  Therefore  I have  not  very 
closely  studied  this  question  to  ascertain  the  exact  cause  for  this 
dropping  of  the  leaves.  I have  not  found  that  any  typically- 
diseased  trees  had  dropped  their  leaves  nor  had  they  dead  branches. 
So  we  may  take  it  that  there  is  no  connection  between  nectria  in 
rubber  and  any  abnormal  dropping  of  leaves,  or  dying  back  of 
branches,  which  are  probably  due  to  an  abnormal  season  or  to  a 
tree  being  in  an  unsuitable  place,  or,  through  some  accidental  rea- 
son, not  being  able  to  do  so  well  as  its  neighbours. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  address  Mr.  C.4RRU  THERS,  in  reply  to 
questions  from  the  meeting,  stated  that  he  did  not  consider  there 
was  anything  very  serious  in  canker  disease,  and  although  there 
was  no  reason  to  suppose  the  fungus  would  not  attack  nursery 
plants  it  was  very  possible  that  the  smooth  bark  of  the  young  plant 
would  not  induce  the  spores  to  settle  on  it,  whereas  with  a wound 
on  a tree  it  was  possible  that  the  disease  would  get  hold  by  the 
spores  settling  on  the  wound.  Canker  in  nursery  plants  would 
soon  show  itself  by  killing  the  plants  : he  himself  how^ever  had  only 
seen  the  fungus  on  trees  about  two  years  old.  He  considered  that 
seed  from  very  young  trees  was  quite  as  capable  of  producing 
healthy  plants  that  would  resist  pest  attacks  as  seed  from  mature 
trees. 
Canker  in  a tree  did  not  affect  the  seeds.  The  fruit  produced 
on  the  living  portions  of  a cankered  tree  would  be  absolutely  good 
for  planting  purposes.  It  was  the  same  with  the  root,  nectria  on 
the  bark  did  not  affect  it.  Even  when  the  bark  low  down  was 
