September, 1910.] 



225 



Plant Sanitation. 



was indistinguishable from that of Fomes 

 semitostus. There was no fructification 

 in the latter case, and therefore an exact 

 identification was not possible ; but had 

 the root been a Ceylon specimen, there 

 would have been no doubt about it. 



THE BURIAL OF TEA PRUN1NGS. 



[Extract from " Encore quelques mots 

 snr les Acariens du The," par Dr. 

 Ch. Bernard, Bulletin du Depart- 

 ment de l'Agriculture aux Indes 

 Neerlandais, No. XL. Translated by 

 T. Petch.J 

 "I have recently seen several cases of 

 root disease, undoubtedly caused by a 

 fungus developed on primings in the 

 soil. When this disease alone is to be 

 feared, it is permissible to leave the 

 primings for some time on the surface 

 until their leaves, which contain some 

 nutriment, have fallen off ; afterwards 

 the woody branches can be removed. 

 But if mites are feared, or even if Helo- 

 peltis has attacked the bushes, a large 

 number of parasites, especially the eggs 

 of mites attached to the leaves, and the 

 eggs of Helopeltis in the branches, will 

 be destroyed by burning the primings 

 immediately ; these eggs are not quickly 

 destroyed by burying. It will be ob- 

 jected that burning the prunings while 

 f resh, especially in the wet season, pre- 

 sents some difficulty ; I do not think that 

 this objection provides sufficient reason 

 for rejecting this method ; and I have 

 seen estates where it is done at all 

 seasons, and that without making - the 

 cost of burning too high. A little kero- 

 sene, sprinkled over the heaps of prim- 

 ings before they are set on fire, will 

 facilitate their combustion. 



" It would be imagined— and I have 

 often heard the opinion expressed— that 

 mites are surely and rapidly killed by a 

 burial of a few days' duration. But 

 against this idea I am able to quote the 

 results of an experiment made on an 



estate near Bandoeng which shows how 

 resistant either the mites or their eggs 

 are. The mite in question was the 

 scarlet mite (Brevipalpus obovatus) 

 which more especially interests us, since 

 it is the only mite which seriously 

 damages tea in Java. The Superin- 

 tendent of the estate in question had, 

 some time previous to my visit, buried 

 somewhat deeply, in a rather damp soil 

 branches of tea, the leaves of which were 

 severely attacked by Brevipalpus, The 

 branches were due; up after having been 

 eighteen days underground ; the leaves 

 had blackened and begun to decay. 

 But, on examining the more or less 

 decayed debris under the microscope 

 we were surprised to find a good number 

 of scarlet mites still living and in good 

 condition. Were these mites on the 

 leaves already full grown when the 

 primings were buried, or had they 

 hatched underground from the eggs on 

 the leaves ? We are not able to decide 

 this point, because so many details in the 

 life history of these mites are still lack- 

 ing. . " . . . The fact record- 

 ed above, which was confirmed by a 

 further experiment in freer soil at Pasir- 

 Sarougee is of value in showing that the 

 burial of primings does not kill, or at 

 least does not kill rapidly, the scarlet 

 mite. It may be said that, practically, 

 burial will destroy the mites because 

 they will not be able to make their way 

 to the surface. I do not think so. On 

 estates the primings are never buried 

 so deep as they were in these experi- 

 ments ; and the earth above the branches 

 remains loose long enough to allow the 

 mites to escape at their leisure, to climb 

 up the stems, and to reach the branches 

 when the leaves begin to develop. 

 Without doubt many are killed, but 

 sufficient remain to renew the attack 

 later. It must be concluded that the 

 burial of primings cannot be recom- 

 mended on estates which are attacked 

 severely by scarlet mite; they should 

 be burnt immediately." 



LIVE STOCK. 



OSTEOPOROSIS AFFECTING HORSES 

 IN CEYLON. 



(A Lecture to the Officers and Troopers 

 of the Ceylon Mounted Rifles deli- 

 vered at the Annual Camp, 1910.; 

 By G. W. Sturgess, m.r.c.v.s., 

 Government Veterinary Surgeon, Ceylon. 



The disease is also commonly known 

 as Big Head, a term that at once calls 

 to mind one of its most prominent 

 29 



symptoms. It is a constitutional disease 

 occurring in both young and adult horses 

 characterised by stiffness and lameness, 

 with enlargement, softening, loss of 

 weight from absorption of earthy salts, 

 and fragility of the bones, more espe- 

 cially those of the upper and lower jaw 

 (hence the term Big Head). Any part of 

 the bony framework may be affected, 

 and such a bone as the shoulder blade 

 may be enormously swollen with minor 

 head symptoms. The disease is recorded 

 in Ceylon, India, Singapore, Burmah, 



