OCT.— MAR. 1859-60.] 



Proceedings. 



373 



here and there, and the fruit dropping off before ripe. The next 

 investigation made was what sort of treatment had produced such 

 results : it was perfectly evident that manuring with green manure 

 had been carried on, the plan appeared to be to cut the grass on 

 the Estate and the trees with it, throwing some earth over it after 

 it had been laid on of a certain thickness. If this is correct, a 

 more injudicious act could not be thought of. 



There may be a valuable fertilizing principle, in green manure, 

 suitable to hard wooded trees, though there is no harm in its being 

 doubted, and no great stretch of argument would be required to 

 prove its destructive properties, and happy is the planter who never 

 attempted to prove it upon his trees. If a chemical Philosopher 

 was called into, question, he would not go upon the vague suppo- 

 sition, " that no amount of stupidity would ruin him." His action 

 would be, by the most careful analysis, to try and obtain a know- 

 ledge of the qualities of the components, then a fair judgment 

 could be formed. Matter of similar qualities should undoubtedly 

 be the food of the plant analyzed. There may be error in this, 

 plausible though it be ; still the more the nature of the plant is 

 considered, the more favourable the results, as regards the selec- 

 tion of manure. 



These remarks are requisite to enable us to discover what the 

 disease in question is. From the symptoms, it is evidently a 

 Fungus, which has attacked the roots, and has been created by the 

 decomposition of green vegetable matter. Though the roots were 

 not examined, the results are such as to leave little doubt upon the 

 subject. As a proof of the position taken up, there is in Penang 

 a plantation, called Government Plantation which I believe has re- 

 ceived no attention, good, bad, or indifferent for a long time back, 

 and the trees look healthy, nothing could be plainer than that care- 

 lessness, in not having an acquaintance with the Physiology of 

 the plant cultivated, has brought about the results now to be de- 

 plored. The disease being unseen is all the more dangerous. From 

 the rapidity with which Fungi ramify, when once established in 

 any soil in the Tropics, there is every reason to conclude that the 

 soil in these plantations is thoroughly impregnated with this dead- 

 ly scourge, which may be so minute upon the rootlets, as to require 



