105 
Crotalaria striata is also attacked by a root fungus, but 
up to the present I have not been able to "infect healthy Para 
rubber from diseased Crotalaria. Planters who have sown 
Crotalaria should watch their plants carefully and should 
immediately notify the Department of Agriculture if any 
die or even look unhealthy. It is extremely important to 
know the extent of this Crotalaria disease and if Para is 
immune to it. The symptoms of diseased Crotalaria are 
much the same as those described for root disease in Para, 
but of course not so easily noticed. 
Catchcrops. 
Catchcrops still seem in favour with several planters 
though when we consider the difficulty of selecting a suitable 
plant, that the extra labour force required is not always 
available, and that three years is about the limit of ex- 
ploitation, it is doubtful if they are worth attempting except 
on estates where an early return of money is desirable. 
Tapioca if carefully handled appears to do no harm in trees 
planted at a reasonable distances say 30 feet by 15 feet or 
25 feet by 15 feet. I have seen a plot of trees of five vears 
old which had been interplanted with tapioca and had never- 
cost the owner a cent for upkeep. The trees were quite as 
good as any of the same age I have seen anywhere. The 
catch crop was taken out by Chinese who in turn manured 
the soil and left the land clean. It was originally covered 
with Jalang — no blukar. The decline in price of tapioca lias 
brought it into disfavour for the moment. Possibly the 
German tapioca made, according to the “Journal d’ Agri- 
culture Tropicale ? ’ of February last, from potatoes and 
said to exhibit the firmness and whiteness of the best Singa- 
pore qualities, has affected the price. 
Mr. Stevens has put up machinery to distil Citronella 
oil on S ungo i Dan don at Chenderiang : The experiment 
will be watched with interest. Citronella and Lemon grass 
can hardly be looked upon as saving weeding, but planted 
m rows across hill-sides, as Mr. Stevens has done, they 
certainly save wash. 
Indigo is grown only by Chinese. Sesamum has been 
tried successfully by Mr. Palmer of Brieh Estate, but Mr. 
Salisbury of Padang Rengas finds it unsatisfactory; he 
says it makes the ground too dirty. 
Musa textilis, a species of banana, better known as 
Manila hemp, ” has been tried successfully by Mr Vaug- 
han at Tampin. It has the advantage of yielding a return 
\t>, 
Ari 
