SE ES Eee SSS SSS 
EDITORIAL. 
DESTRUCTIVE CITRUS DISEASE. 
Considerable damage is being caused in one or two citrus-growing 
districts in New South Wales by the prevalence of Black Spot, which 
attacks mandarines. It is attributed to the fungus Colletotrichum 
gleosporiodes, and is not to be confused with Phoma citricarpa, which 
gives rise to the Black Spot of the orange. Some inquiry into the 
subject has already been made by the Biological Branch of the New 
South Wales Department of Agriculture, and although a treatment has 
been prescribed, it has been found in practice that it is too severe, and 
markedly affects the vitality of the trees. Additional experiments, there- 
fore, are to be carried out by the Department, and the results of the 
further investigations will be watched with a good deal of interest. 
Fruit-growing is becoming of so much greater importance in Australia 
than it was a few years ago, that exhaustive inquiries into some of the 
principal diseases which affect not only citrus but other fruits should 
be undertaken. 
‘TESTS OF PINE TIMBERS. 
Tests of pine timbers, carried out by Professor R. W. Chapman, 
of the Adelaide University, point to the superiority of the Canary 
Tsland Pine (Pinus canariensis) over both the Remarkable Pine 
(Pinus insignis) and the Maritime Pine (Pinus maritima). Several 
hundred tests of the timbers were made, and the outstanding feature of 
them all was the great strength of the Canary Island pine as compared 
with others. Taking the average weight of all the beam tests, a beam 
of this timber 12 inches by 12 inches and 12 feet long will carry a central 
load of about 42 tons before it breaks. An Insignis beam of the same 
size will carry 24 tons, and a Maritime 19 tons. Oregon beams of the 
same size will carry 26 tons. Similarly, a short column of Canary 
Island pine 12 inches by 12 inches will carry a load of 533 tons before 
it actually breaks. Insignis will carry 297 tons, and Maritime 336. 
Canary Island pine flourishes in 18 to 20 inches rainfall areas, and better 
still in heavier soils in the 20 to 25 inch rainfall areas. It is a tree 
that is particularly free from disease, and yields an extraordinary amount 
of resin and turpentine. It is about 15 per cent. slower in growth than 
the Insignis, but when drought is killing the latter it is flourishing. 
Moreover, it is not readily destroyed by fire, as if will sprout again. 
STANDARDIZATION IN GREAT BRITAIN. 
Before the war the United States was far ahead of Great Britain in 
standardization and specialized machinery. The American clock and 
the Ford car are two well-known examples. Professor J. E. Petavel, in 
an address to the engineering section of the British Association, pointed 
out that during the war Great Britain adopted and developed similar 
methods. As a result, although the result of all materials increased 
considerably, although the wages more than doubled, and although the 
profits made were more than adequate, the cost was in many cases 
reduced. Thus the 18-pounder shell fell from 22s. to 12s., and the 
Lewis gun from £165 to £62. Professor Petavel stated that the im- 
portance of standardization had now been fully realized by the manu- 
facturers of Great Britain, and as a result a general reduction in cost 
was expected. 
459 
