and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



291 



if Mr. Petch could suggest what information 

 planters could submit to him. 



Mr. Petch— said that he hoped soon to have 

 an organised force for 



Working at tlie Disease, 

 and one of the duties would bo to get important 

 details from the districts in which the men are 

 at work. 



Dr. Feknando :— Planters could co-operate ? 



Mr. Fetch — said there were two ways in which 

 planters could help him. They might give 

 returns of the trees affected together with tire 

 acreage. Of course names would not be pub- 

 ished in these cases. By this means they would 

 be able to discover how much disease was 

 spreading. If the planter treated his own trees 

 and made himself solely responsible that 

 everything was in order on hits estate the 

 planters might go round and see whether the 

 villagers iii the same neighbourhood were 

 treating their trees, because information of this 

 kind was i ecessary, and it was practically im- 

 possible for one man to gather it from such an 

 area. 



Mr. Ferguson :— The treatment you recom- 

 mended has been uniformly successful ? 



Mr. Petch : — I do not know any case whers 

 it failed. 



Mr. Ferguson :— Do you consider an other- 

 wise diseased palm more liable to get this disease 

 than an ordinary palm, and that the effect of weak- 

 ening would make the tree more liable to catch 

 the disease ? 



Mr. Petch : — There is nothing, no facts, to 

 show that particular trees are attacked. Young, 

 healthy trees are attacked. 



Mr. Feuguson : — That was the same with the 

 coffee leaf disease. Young trees took it as readily 

 as the old trees, the worn out ones in the island. 

 It began in one of our youngest planting districts 

 not in one of tf)9 o'dast. 



Mr. H. L. de Mel : — Have you traced the death 

 of coconut trees to this disease only ? 



Mr. Fetch : — No. The only possible case is 

 supplied in the trees shown me on the Negombo 

 Canal. And those cases I doubt very ranch. 

 There is a patch of trees at Kochchikade,^ dis- 

 eased, that looks as if the trees would die soon. 

 But I cannot say I have seen trees actually 

 killed by this disease. 



Mr. H. L. de Mai : — Is there a chance of 

 the disease killing trees ? 



Mr. Petch :— Yes, I am surprised I have 

 not found trees killed by it. I found the disease 

 growing within a foot of the cavity and yet such 

 trees were in bearing. 



Mr. A. E. Rajapakse, Mudaliyar :— I saw 

 trees at Kochikade dead and dying. 



Mr. Petch :— They are not dead. 



Mr. Rajapakse : — Several of those trees are 

 now dead. 



Mr. Petch — On the piece of ground over 

 which you took the Governor ? 



Mr. Rajapakse : — Yes. Several trees have 

 died, some of them very old, about 50 years 

 of age. 



Mr. Ferguson : — You have not had your 

 treatment questioned scientifically ? 

 Mr. Petch :— No. 



iVir. Ferguson:— Nor by auy practical planter? 



Mr. Petch : —No. I should be glad to go 

 down and see ary cases where it haR not proved 

 successful. 



Mr. W. S. Bandaraxayake In the case of 

 trees badly diseased that aro too good to be 

 cut down entirely, will the cutting off of 

 diseas d tissue and tarring inly suffice ? 



Mr. Petch : — I am afraid we cannot allow 

 it. When cutting out portions and tarring can- 

 not be carried out the only alternative is to 



Cut Down the Tree and Burn It. 

 This will have to bo done in accordance with 

 the Pests Ordinance. 



M r. Bandaran ayake : — Do not healthy trees 

 stand the disease better ? 



Mr. Petch :— No. Trees which stand the 

 disease best are the old ones which have dense 

 wood within an inch of the surface. If they had 

 not that dense wood the fungus would go right 

 into the centre. 



Mr. Bandaranay\ke :— Will the burying of 

 coconut husks be dangerous? 



Mr. Petch : — I will examine husks in wet 

 weather and see. The burying of husks carrying 

 the fungus will be as dangerous as leaving them 

 above ground. 



Mr. Ferguson : -Has your attention been 

 called to the kernel disease of the coconut ? 



Mr. Petch :— Yes, I intend to go into the 

 matter as soon as we can get into working order 

 in connection with the stem disease. It must 

 b3 done on the spot. Several nuts have been 

 sent to me to Peradeniya, but when they got 

 there nothing could be done with them. There 

 are too many other organisiins on the kernels 

 after some days. They must be investigated on 

 the spot. 



Mr. Felsinger ; — In the matter of application 

 in the stem disease, which is better— tar or car- 

 bolic acid ? 



