THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE 



Tropical Agriculturist and Magazine of the C. A. 8. 



No. 4.] OCTOBER, 1912. [Vol. XL 



RUBBER TREE DISEASES. 



LECTURE TO K ALU TAR A PLANTERS 



BY MR. PETCH. 

 Interesting Information and Useful Hints. 



The members of the Kalutara Planters' Asso- 

 ciation assembled in force at the Tebuwana 

 Club-house on Wednesday afternoon to listen to 

 remarks by Mr T Petch, b.sc, b.A., Mycologist 

 on the staff at Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, 

 about diseases of the rubber tree. The matter 

 is one that vitally affects the interests of the 

 rubber planters, and the large attendance testi- 

 fied to their keen desire to know more of the 

 subject. 



Several planters who attended the meeting 

 brought sections of trees affected by diseases 

 which were examined by Mr Petch, and the 

 nature of the disease explained. During the 

 lecture Mr Petch exhibited different sections of 

 trees and showed how diseases could be detec- 

 ted. He also illustrated his observations with 

 diagrams. 



The chair was occupied by Mr. H Inglis, 

 Chairman of the Kalutara Planters' Association, 

 and there was a large number of planters 

 present : — 



The Chairman Introduces Mr Petch. 



After the minutes of the last general meeting 

 had been confirmed, 



The Chairman— said :~ The only item on the 

 Agenda this afternoon is a lecture by Mr. Petch 

 on "The Diseases of the Rubber Tree.' 'At the 

 last Committee meeting of your Association 

 it was slated by some members that a cer- 

 tain amount of canker and other diseases of 

 the rubber tree were in the district. The 

 health of the rubber tree is of great import- 

 ance to all of us here — (hear, hear) — so your 

 Committee decided to ask Mr. Petch to come 

 down here and tell us what he could about 



41 



the matter and enable us to identify any 

 disease when we see it, and tell us how to era- 

 dicate the disease. (Hear, hear,) Mr Petch very 

 kindly agreed to our request and he has come 

 down here at a great deal of trouble to himself to 

 help us. (Applause.) Mr Petch as most of you 

 know, is the Mycologist on the staff of the Pera- 

 deniya Botanical Gardens, and I think he is 

 kuown to most of us here personally, but to all 

 of us through his writings. (Hear, hear.) Those 

 interesting circulars that are periodically issued 

 from the Botanic Gardens are many of them 

 written by him and lately he has issued a very 

 valuable book on the "Physiology and Diseases 

 of the Hevea Baziliensis" — a book every rubber 

 planter should have in his library, (Hear, hear.) 

 ["On estate account ! " (Laughter.)] I know you 

 are all anxious to hear what Mr Petch has got 

 to say, so I will ask him to kindly give us his 

 lecture. (Applause.) 



The Lecture. 

 Mr T. Petch, who on risiDg, was greeted with 

 applause, said : I may congratulate the members 

 of the Kalutara Planters' Association on the 

 fact that it is now eight years since the Govern- 

 raent Mycologist addressed them. I am not 

 quite so certain how to regard the coincidence 

 that the subject on which information is sought 

 today, that is, Hevea canker, is the same as that 

 on which you were addressed eight years ago. 

 Of course, we have discovered more about the 

 disease since then, but the main difficulty ex- 

 perienced by the planter appears to be still the 

 more elementary point, how to recognise it. The 

 outward indications of "Canker" are, as a rule, 

 not remarkably conspicuous, — a slight darkening 

 of the bark, or in more advanced cases an exu- 

 dation of a brown, rusty liquid. But if any sus- 

 picious-coking patches are lightly scraped so 

 as to remove only the outer corky lasers, the 

 indications of canker, if proseur, are Imme- 

 diately revealed. On normal Hevea bark, the 



