134 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
mistletoe, as it will continue to grow again. The bough 
on which it is must be cut off below the parasite. The 
planter should regularly look over the trees to see if 
there is any mistletoe, so that it may be cut off while 
young. 
The presence of any quantity of this parasite implies 
great neglect of the plantation on the part of the 
manager. I have, however, seen valuable nutmeg trees 
owned by natives and Eurasians almost destroyed by 
this pest, and in some cases, where the trees were near 
the seashore, they had even been attacked by the 
climbing parasite Cassyiha, which attacks seashore 
shrubs and had climbed upon the nutmeg trees. It is 
a leafless, yellow, cord-like plant, with white flowers. 
Hypocrella scutata. — On the leaves of sickly trees it 
is not uncommon to find some round bun-shaped bodies 
of a light orange colour, \ in. across and about in. thick. 
These are, I believe, the fruiting state of an ascomycete 
fungus, Hypocrella scutata. Under a lens they are 
seen to be elevated in the middle, and covered with 
sticky brown projections. These are the mouths of the 
asci, from which the spores are ejected. These bun- 
shaped fungi are easily detached and there is no sign 
of any injury to the leaf beneath them, except a small 
yellovr spot in the centre w^here the chlorophyll is des- 
troyed. On the rest of the leaf, however, is a quantity 
of a black mycelium of Hypocrella. To the naked eye 
it has the appearance of a little soot rubbed on the leaf. 
The fruit and mycelium seem to be always on the 
upper side of the leaf, and do not inflict any apparently 
serious injury. Hypocrella is said to be saprophytic 
only, and not parasitic. 
It would be better to pluck off and destroy all 
leaves affected by this fungus, as the mycelium doubt- 
less is more or less injurious to the leaf. Its presence 
may be taken as a sign that the plant wants manuring. 
Soot-Mould. — The leaves of plants in a weak state 
of health are often covered with a black fungus, belong- 
ing to the group of Perisporiae commonly known as soot- 
