~S‘\V 
133 
Kruyff, Director of the Department of Agriculture, do not make up 
the tapioca into starch blit cut the roots in two and dry them in the 
sun, and thus dri°d export them to Belgium, France and Holland 
where they are utilised for the manufacture of alcohol. 
This cheap method might pay even while the tapioca is at so low 
a price. — E d. 
NOTES ON THE ANGSANA TREE DISEASE IN 
PENANG. 
Between 30 and 40 years ago there grew along the sea front in 
Malacca a magnificent avenue of Angsana trees ( Pterocarpus 
indicus), and it appears that about that time they were attacked by 
some disease which killed practically the whole of them. Since that 
date up to within about 4 years ago, th ? Angsana tree, which is ' largely 
planted in the Straits, and especially so in Penang, seems to have been 
free from any attack, about the last mentioned date, however, I noticed 
in Macalister Road, Penang, three medium-sized trees showing signs 
of disease. Examination shewed no palpable cause, except an exhu- 
dation of ‘Kino. The trees died in less than three months, from the 
first sign of attack and were cut down and burned. A few months 
later, trees for the most part of the largest size, here and there along 
the road sides began to exhibit the same symptons and eventually 
died, the greatest number dying during the year 1898-1899. In all 
close on a hundred trees have been killed by this disease, a calamity 
of no small magnitude since, I have said they were mostly magnificent 
trees averaging a diameter at 3 feet from the ground of about 5 feet. 
As they form the principal shade-tree planted along our road sides, 
it can be imagined how serious is the loss occasioned by the destruc- 
tion of such noble ^rees, to say nothing of the labour involved in 
cutting them down. As regards the preventive measures adopted for 
arresting the spread of the disease, the usual one of isolation was 
tried, by digging a trench round the tree throwing the infected soil 
inwards toward the stem, and liberally dusting the bottom and sides 
of the trench with lime and sulphate of copper, powdered fine. 
Unfortunately from the situation of the trees along the public roads, 
with a metalled road on the one side, and a ditch on the other it was 
impossible to completely encircle the tree, consequently two trenches 
were cut one on either side of the tree, from the road to the ditch- 
From such partial protection it was impossible to prevent the 
mycelium travelling under ground from tree to tree. The ultimate 
plan of cutting out '.every tree that was affected was adopted and I am 
glad to say that although the disease is not perhaps quite stamped 
out, it is under control. During the worst of the epidemic I got per- 
mission of the Municipal Commissioners to invite Mr. Gallagher, the 
„ then F.M.S. Government Mycologist (now Director of Agriculture) 
