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thing! am certain of, and that is that they are identical with, the 
creature that is destroying our rubber ti’ees ... X feel certain 
that I shall almost exterminate these insects on my estates.” 
In the light of present knowledge it is obvious that to whatever 
else species the queens belonged which were dug out of the mounds, 
they were not Termes gestroi, and that not by this method was 
there any hope of protecting the rubber trees. 
In November, 1901, Ridley, writing upon a recent visit to 
Selangor, expressed his admiration of the splendid coffee and Para 
rubber trees he saw, but “the drawback was the white ant pest, 
and it waf truly grievous 'to see fine four-year old Para rubber 
trees killed by their attacks.” Suspecting fungus disease in addition 
to termites, several trees were pulled up and their roots examined. 
On one a fungus was found and identified as Helicobasidium sp. 
Ridley observed “ I am aware I am on debatable ground as to 
whether the particular tree I examined which bad fungus at its roots 
was killed by that fungus or by white ants or by both . . . My 
own theory is that in this particular instance the fungus was the 
cause.” 
In a letter from Lanadron in December, 1901, Francis Pears 
wrote : “ The age of my trees is from 2§ years downwards and as yet 
I have not had a single established plant destroyed by white ants, 
although certain portions of the estate contain numerous ant heaps 
such as Mr. Bailey describes ; on one ten-acre block as many as two 
hundred. This, Sir, may slightly bear out your theory that a fungus 
is principally instrumental in destroying the trees in Selangor.” 
I believe I am correct in saying that Lanadron was clean cleared 
of timber before planting. What an epoch making letter that would 
have been if Pears had deduced the true reason of his freedom from 
white ant attack, that the absence of timber precluded the possibility 
of attack by Termes gestroi. 
E. V. Carey in March, 1902, gave wliat should have been the 
death blow to the system of destroying queens from mounds. He 
described how, having in the pre-rubber days paid out considerable 
sums in rewards for queens because Termes gestroi was attacking 
the coffee, he submitted some specimens to E, E. Green in Ceylon, 
who, of course, told him that he was catching the wrong species. 
Later, wheu Para, rambong, and coconut were attacked “ roots 
ware bared and kept open to the air, painted with tar, washed 
with Bordeaux mixture, solution of tuba z’oot yi sweet flag, Jeyes 
disinfectant, etc.,” without success. Then Bailey of Lowlands tried 
another method which had met with such “ unqualified success ” 
that Carey ascribed to him the credit “of having put us all on the 
right track.” The method was a thorough digging over of the whole 
attacked area. Carey recommended a modification, contenting him- 
self with digging from attacked trees, 2^ to 3 feet deep for a distance 
