282 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



profess to contend with Indian and Ceylon 'in 

 rich syrupy liquor,' but it is satisfactory to know- 

 that indulgence in the China leaf, whether 

 whole or broken, will not lead to an inquest, as 

 in a recent case where the deceased was found 

 to have a leather- coated stomach from the use 

 of strong astringent teas. ;) We may now expoct 

 to see advertisements of China tea with the 

 following addition : " Cse tea from the Flowery 

 Land and avoid a leather-coated stomach." — 

 H. and C. Mail, Feb. 14. 



THE COCONUT STEM DISEASE. 



Feb. 21st. 



Through the ccurtesy of Mr. Welldon, the 

 V. A. of the Ceylon Tea Plantations Co., and 

 of Mr. Braine, 'the Superintendent of Mawatte 

 estate, I had the privilege of witnessing a demon- 

 stration of how to treat trees affected with the 

 disease. Without being hypercritical, I must be 

 permitted to enquire, why have all these ceinon- 

 strations on estates, and why on those of a 

 particular Company ? If it was necessary to 

 have demonstrations on estates, one of those 

 chosen should certainly have been Uoluapokuna, 

 where the most complete precautions are being 

 adopted to guard trees against infection. The 

 spraying operations would have been an object 

 lesson, though not for the ordinary villager, 

 yet for the intelligent planter. Goluapokuna, 

 withal, would have been more central and 

 more accessible than the estates chosen. 

 But I am very strongly of opinion, and have 

 urged those opinions constantly during the 

 last few months, that it is 



THE SMALL LAND-OWNER THAT SHOULD BE 

 REACHED PRIMARILY, 



and not tha more intelligent owners 

 or Superintendents of estates. How- 

 ever, all this by the way. 1 learnt from 

 Dr. Willis, to whom I communicated my 

 opinion, that a very complete scheme has 

 been elaborated, and will be adopted and 

 carried out immediately. This should have 

 been done at the initial stage of the epidemic, 

 but better late than never. Much lost time will 

 have to be retrieved. The interest the intelli- 

 gent portion of those interested in coconuts 

 evinced in the demonstration was amply testified 

 to by the distance from which planters came to 

 witness it. There were planters from far-off 

 Rajakadaluwa, who travelled all night so as to 

 be present at 8 a.m. A gentleman camo from 

 Henaratgoda. Those engaged in desiccating 

 nuts were present with 



DISEASED KERNELS OF NUTS, 



and nuts with a fungus attack almost similar to 

 the disease on the stems, affecting the husk. 

 But tho numbers present were disappointing. 

 As for the natives, only two solitary outsiders 

 were there, one a Headman and another a man 

 apparently of some standing. The people that 

 should have come were not there. Stolid, 

 Philosophic, apathy must have been one cause, 

 and the inaccessibility of the place another. 

 Now to the demonstration. To me, who has 

 to deal with old trees on which the attack is 

 superficial and never penetrates the hard wood, 

 unless possibly when treatment is neglected, it 

 was a revelation, and an unpleasant revelation, 

 to see f he extent of the damage that could be 

 done on young trees. One part of the tree 

 operated upon was badly attacked, and I was 

 not surprised to find 



THE HEART COMPLETELY DECAYED. 



A bleeding spot above that was chosen 

 and cut out, and there was the disease 

 wending its way almost up to the crown. 

 What was strange was, and I am sure it 

 was & revelation even to Mr. Petch, that 

 the disease on its way* up, was almost im- 

 perceptible in places and was indicated only by 

 slightly discoloured tissue, while above that, 

 dead tissue was met. This occurred more 

 than once. This is a very serious state of affairs 

 and demands imperatively prompt and vigor- 

 ous action on the part of the authorities. 

 At the request of Mr. Welldon, I addressed a 

 few words to the Sinhalese present. The Peace 

 Officer at once stated that very few Sinhalese 

 would cut out the diseased tissue as completely 

 as he saw done. I told them that 



AS IN THE CASE OF HUMAN INFECTIOUS DISEASES, 



the Government will be compelled to step 

 in and interfere both for the safety of the 

 individual concerned and for the public 

 safety. An Ordinance had been passed for 

 this purpose, and will be proclaimed in 

 infected areas. The owners of gardens and 

 estates will be called upon, by notices served on 

 them, to treat their trees. Failure to do so 

 will be followed by the trees being cut down 

 and burnt, and the individual prosecuted. I 

 asked them what a Sinhalese man will do 

 without his coconut trees ? He will prefer 

 death to that, he said. Neglect of timely 

 precautions will end that way, I replied. I 

 questioned Mr. Petch, as to how he inno- 

 oculated trees and sucessfully infected them. 

 He explained that he cut out a square piece 



