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centre of infection for surrounding plants. The best course to pursue 

 is to dig up the plant and burn it immediately, saturating the soil 

 where it stood with a strong solution of copperas. A plant if taken 

 up and the but trimmed back to healthy tissues to hen the wilting is 

 first discovered, may sometimes be saved, but on the whole I think it 

 is wiser to be rid of it at once. Fortunately the disease does not 

 spread rapidly and may easily be checked by the observant cultivator 

 if taken in time. 



" Sanding" is not so common in Jamaica as in Florida where the 

 soil is lighter and easily blown into the heart of the plants Ants 

 cause much trouble here, however, by carrying earth into the leaves, 

 but this is an effect, not a cause, and is due to the presence of the 

 mealy bugs which the ants try to protect, being fond of the sweetish 

 secretion with which they cover the leaves. 



I am but little acquainted with " Spike" but have regarded it as 

 due to careless selection or non -selection of suckers rather than as a 

 disease. Prof. Rolfs, the Biologist of the Florida Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, seems to consider it as caused by improper or ill 

 balanced fertilizing. 



I have already referred to " Tangle-root." Authorities differ as to 

 its nature but I think that in a majority of cases it is simply due to 

 poor preparation of the land, the roots being unable to freely enter the 

 earth and so winding about the but cause strangulation as the stock 

 expands. 



Varieties. 



I presume that to a majority of people in northern countries a pine- 

 apple is a pineapple, just as to the average Jamaican a peach is a peach, 

 yet the different varieties vary greatly in quality, appearance and 

 merits. I think on the whole we should be thankful that propagators 

 have not been too ambitious in rolling up a long list of names as has 

 been the case with oranges. The Florida Horticultural Society tabu- 

 lates a list of 73 different varieties of oranges and that without synon- 

 yms. Counting the synonyms which same enterprising nursery men 

 in Florida insist upon considering distinct varieties, the list swells to 

 something like 110. I am a rather old orange grower, but I doubt if 

 I could identify more than 14 of these, and to do so should have to in- 

 clude 4 of the Citrus noblis class. Of course there are many others 

 highly desirable but I think that the average practical orange grower 

 will make his grove of but 7 or 8 standard kinds. The same authority 

 (and none is higher) enumerates 18 varieties of pines as follows : — 



1 Abbaka 10 Eipley Queen 



2 Antigua, Black 11 Lord Carrington 



3 Antigua, White 12 Prince Albert 



4 Black Jamaica 13 Porto Eico 



5 Black Prince 14 Pernambuco 



6 Blood 15 Eed Spanish 



7 Crown Prince 16 Smooth Cayenne 

 :8 Charlotte Eothschild 17 Sugar Loaf 



9 Egyptian Queen 18 Enville 



