360 
Essed. — The Panama Disease. II. 
healthy-looking inner leaves, and at the close of the fifth month they were 
all dying ; b and c were still healthy-looking. All the plants were then dug 
out and examined ; the rhizomes of / and fb showed the typical brown 
streaks and dots of the Panama disease, and moreover it was clear that the 
infection started from the inoculation spot ; the rhizomes of b and c were 
perfectly healthy. Microscopic scrutiny corroborated the macroscopic 
examination. 
To meet objections as to the suitability of an open field for an experi- 
ment such as this, it was repeated with small but vigorous suckers carefully 
washed out under the tap, so as to remove all the adherent soil particles, 
facilitated by the removal of all rootlets. The suckers after inoculation 
were laid out in troughs, which were filled with soil sterilized in the oven at 
a temperature of 120° C., the first day during three hours, and the second 
day during two hours. The results were even more striking. At the end 
of four weeks it was found that the suckers were intensely infested by the 
fungus, showing the typical characteristics of the Panama disease. I believe 
I have convincingly proved that this disease, as it occurs in Surinam , is 
caused by the U stilaginoidella musaeperda . I may here mention that the 
inoculation and the disclosure of the results took place in the presence of 
the majority of the staff of the Military Hospital, while the manager of 
the United Fruit Company, whom I wish to thank for much valuable 
information, had the opportunity of seeing the results of the last-mentioned 
experiment. 
Final remarks . In the first paper I spoke of the Congo as a resistant 
variety, but since then it has proved not to be so resistant as was generally 
expected and believed at first. All efforts to discover a remedy against the 
plague were vain up till now ; I myself tried steeping of the suckers in 
CuS 0 4 solution and frequent spraying with CuS 0 4 + (NH 4 ) 2 S 0 4 with no 
results. My experiment, however, was on a very small scale and was 
carried out under conditions which could not be looked upon as securing 
all chances of success. I do not mean to say, of course, that the application 
of the above-mentioned mixture should lead to success, but neither is the 
contrary proved, since no certainty could be obtained of the perfect sterility 
of the suckers used. At all events, I am not inclined to admit the incura- 
bility of the disease, as is generally thought here. It is very probable that 
no success can be secured unless with stringent, most expensive measures, 
but if they could lead to success, and the expenses could be divided over 
a certain number of years of a permanent crop, then I do not see why 
all attempts to fight even a most dangerous enemy should be abandoned 
so soon. One can hardly give any advice as to the way to follow in experi- 
menting, when the opportunity for one’s own experiments is so unfavourable, 
but I hope that experts of the different experimental stations interested in 
the West Indies and Guiana will be at one with me that some serious fighting 
