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The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



The above results show that it approximates 

 in nutritive properties the composition of a rich, 

 natural cream ; it is very pleasant and sweet 

 to the taste, possesses an agreeable odour, and, 

 when sterilised and properly sealed, will remain 

 indefinitely in a fresh condition. Such a product 

 could be used as a substitute for all of the 

 purposes to which the so-called " evaporated 

 creams," now on the market, are put ; and it 

 might prove to be one of the most valuable by- 

 products of the coconut-oil industry. 



The experiments enumerated above are both 

 interesting and instructive, but it is to be re- 

 gretted that they did not include at least one 

 with air-dried, either by refrigeration or by con- 

 tact with a hygroscopic substance in an anhy- 

 drous state, seeing that this affords all the 

 advantages of drying at low temperatures while 

 eliminating those associated with the rarifi- 

 cation characteristic of vacuum drying. — Indian 

 Trade Journal, Dec. 30. 



COCONUT BLEEDING DISEASE. 



The Treatment : Ceylon Government 

 Mycologist's Advice. 

 In the present instance the decay of the stem 

 tissue is the direct effect of the attack of Thie- 

 laviopsis, as is proved by the inoculation ex- 

 periments and the success of the treatment 

 recommended. . . . The 



DISEASED PARTS OF THE COCONUT STEM MUST BE 

 COMPLETELY CUT OUT. 



There is no difficulty in determining how much 

 must be cut out, since the decayed tissue con- 

 trasts strongly with the healthy parts; but many 

 people have expressed astonishment at the 

 amount which is revealed when once the stem 

 is cut open. Frequently a small black external 

 patch is the only indication of an internal col- 

 umn of diseased tissue 6 feet long. If any dis- 

 eased tissue is left behind, the disease will not 

 be stopped; therefore it is usually advisable, 

 in the case of long strands or cylinders of decay 

 in the heart of the tree, to cut out about an inch 

 or two of the sound tissue when the end of the 

 strand has apparently been reached, in order to 

 make quite certain that it does not continue as 

 a narrow thread and then widen out again above. 

 This is not so necessary on old trees where the 

 disease is confined to the cortex. It is probable 

 that in many native gardens the excision has 

 not been thorough. The estate owner is accus- 

 tomed to cut out "red beetle," and there- 

 fore adopted this treatment for the bleeding 

 disease without much hesitation; but the native 

 is so decidedly averse to cutting his coconut 

 palms that the work may have been scamped in 

 many cases. It redounds greatly to the credit 

 of the inspectors that they have been able to 

 persuade the villagers to overcome their preju- 

 dice in this matter. 



THE BEST INSTRUMENTS 



are an ordinary 1-inch chisel and a mallet. The 

 extent to which the treatment had been adopted 

 may be gauged from the fact that in February, 

 1908, it was impossible to buy either at one of 

 the leading shops in Colombo. In some cases 

 the cost of a chisel was said to be beyond the 



means of the villagers, and these were therefore 

 lent to them. Several patent axes and gouges 

 were put on the market, but none of them sur- 

 passed the ordinary chisel in efficiency; usually 

 these cut out more than was necessary, and left 

 the cut surfaces so rough that water lodged all 

 over them. With a chisel the cut can be trim- 

 med off, and the lower edge of the wound cut 

 slanting upwards, so that the rain water drains 

 away. The 



EXCISED DECAYED TISSUE MUST BE COLLECTED AND 

 BURNT AT ONCE. 



Otherwise the fungus develops freely on it. This 

 advice was unfortunately omitted from the Sin- 

 halese translation of the first circular issued. In 

 ordinary estate practice a piece of sacking is 

 placed at the foot of the tree, and the chips fall 

 on this. This method saves trouble in collec- 

 ting, and secures that no pieces are left hidden 

 among the grass. 



ONE CAUTION 



is necesssary when cutting out diseased 

 tissue. On all coconut stems over twenty 

 years old numerous circular red spots about 

 5 mm. diameter are seen when the outer tis- 

 sues are cut off. These occur up to a height 

 of 10 feet or more. They are not signs of 

 disease, but merely incipient roots, and, need- 

 less to say, they should not be cut out. If 

 holes in the coconut palm, especially in young 

 trees, are left unprotected, they soon 



ATTRACT "RED BEETLE''; 



this insect rapidly destroys the tree. More- 

 over, the soft inner tissues of the stem soon 

 decay when exposed to the action of sun and 

 rain. It is, therefore, necessary to protect the 

 tissues with as permanent a covering as possible 

 and for this purpose coal tar is undoubtedly 

 the best. Tar is universally used in other coun- 

 tries on pruning cuts and other stem wounds, 

 but its use in Ceylon has been discredited, 

 chiefly through misapprehension. In the early 

 days of "cacao canker" many people simply 

 painted tar over the diseased spots without 

 previously excising the infected tissue. It was 

 pointed out to them by the then Mycologist that 

 this practice did not remove the fungus, which 

 flourished unchecked beneath the coating of 

 tar ; and in order to secure the abandonment 

 of such a futile method, and at the same time 

 to enable planters to ascertain, whether the 

 cooly had cut away all the diseased tissue, the 

 use of tar was denounced rather forcibly. As a 

 consequence, the idea has arisen that tar ought 

 not to be used in any case ; whereas it is really 

 a most valuable means of protecting wounded 

 surfaces, and only requires to be applied intelli- 

 gently. In this respect the present treatment 

 of the coconut stem stands on exactly the 



SAME FOOTING AS THE TREATMENT OF THE 

 CACAO SYSTEM. 



There is no doubt that in some cases tar will 

 hide bad work, but the abuse of the method is 

 no justification for its wholesale condemnation. 

 However, although tar may be dispensed with in 

 treatment of cacao, it cannot in treatment of 

 the coconut, owing to the difference in structure 

 of the two stems. The former is able to heal 

 wounds by the formation of new wood and bark 



