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cayenne pepper, which look, on examination under a magnifying 
lens, like crystallized straw-berries. The structure of these red 
fruits is the means of identifying the fungus as a nectria. The 
canker spreads through the agency of the wind in dry weather, by 
water, and by insects such as red ants which carry the spores on 
their legs and bodies in their travels over the trees. The only 
conditions necessary for spores to grow are damp and moisture, 
both of which Kalutara always has. As regards the general health 
of rubber in the district it is good, very good, notwithstanding the 
dropping of leaves, drying back of young branches and irregular 
deciduity in certain rubber trees. The preventive methods I would 
recommend are inspection by gangs of coolies, cutting out the can- 
ker and the entire excision of affected portions and the burning of 
all bark cut off and dead branches. The burning of dead branches 
is a most important matter. Personally speaking I believe — though 
I am perhaps rather rash to speak on this matter to planters who 
have practical experience of these things — the best way to tackle a 
disease like this is not only to look out for this nectria canker 
disease, but to observe any and all diseases that may arise. With 
regard to the cultivation of rubber — as also Jn the case of other 
products — a regular inspection should be made during a consider- 
able time of the year, so that the moment anything unusual is 
noticed in the way of disease it can be treated by simple means at 
the initial stage. As regards the time of the year for observing the 
disease I think dry weather is the best. You can see it better and 
also observe the effect of the same. The disease is better seen in 
dry weather; it is much more easy to spot then than in wet weather, 
ff you cut out a portion of your tree when the weather is damp and 
moist and leave a small portion of the disease in the area cut out the 
fungus will struggle on and regain a foothold, but if you did that 
in dry weather it would completely drive out the fungus. So that 
there are two reasons to show that dry weather is the best for 
observing and for dealing with the disease. With regard to the 
applying of mixtures on diseased parts, there is no doubt that 
theoretically and practically it is sound, but l have reasons for not 
recommending this. In my experience the farmers in England 
and planters out here very often, if any wash is recommended, 
show a tendency not to carefully cut out any portion of the diseased 
bark, but to simply smear the bark with the mixture in a general 
sort of way, and the natural result is that the fungus goes on in its 
fell work under the wash, so that the treatment is of no avail. If 
you cut out the diseased portion of the bark and smear the wound 
with blue stone, the result would be advantageous, that is, it there 
is no slovenly work done with regard to rubber disease — as in the 
case of cocoa cultivation — the Tamil cooly can be shown in a very 
short space of time how to spot the diseased trees. When it comes 
to cutting off portions of the bark in the trunk or branches there 
should be no hesitation. The whole of the affected portion is full 
of the mycelium of the fungus and will not produce latex, so that 
you are not damaging your tree to any extent by cutting off such 
portion as is affected. After operation on the affected portion the 
