coffee-disea.se in soufn America.. 463 



the same disease, and also that destruction was caused, and some 

 of the leaf-spots produced, by an insect named Cemiostoma cof- 

 feellum. At this time (1877) it became manifest that three para- 

 sites had attacked the coffee-plant in South America, namely, the 

 Cemiostoma, the " Candelillo " and the "Jtfancha de hierro." 



In a memoir published by Dr. Ernst in Spanish he described the 

 Candelillo somewhat fully, and applied to the fungus which pro- 

 duced it the name of Erysiphe scandens. The felted mycelium 

 which overspread the leaves seemed to him to be the mycelium of 

 an Erysiphe ; and he believed that he discovered also some cysts 

 similar to the pycnidia of Erysiphe. It was never assumed that 

 the conceptacles of an Erysiphe had been found ; but the name 

 was applied to the imperfect mycelium on account of its supposed 

 resemblance to that of some Erysiphe. 



During the past year I received some coffee-leaves from Dr. 

 Ernst bearing the "Candelillo" or supposed Erysiphe; and these 

 leaves I examined carefully without finding pycnidia, but with 

 somewhat of surprise that it was the identical " black rot " or 

 "Koleroga " of Mysore, and that the fungus was none other than 

 that which I had described as Pellicularia Koleroga. This fact 

 was clearly demonstrated by finding the globose echinulate spores, 

 that the "Candelillo " of "Venezuela is the "Koleroga " of Mysore, 

 and the Erysiphe scandens, Ernst, a synonym of Pellicularia Kole- 

 roga, Cooke. 



The "Manchade hierro" differs most distinctly from the "Can- 

 delillo " in forming discoloured orbicular spots on the leaves ; aud 

 it is therefore to that which reference is made in the note by Pro- 

 fessor Saenz, and also in a further communication from the Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture at Bogota to Dr. Ernst, published in 

 July 1880*. The Commissioner writes : — "At first there appear 

 on the leaves small spots of a light greenish colour, which in two 

 or three days turn brownish, and then appears on each of them a 

 fungus divided in three or more greenish-yellow branches. This 

 fungus is said to be phosphorescent at night ; and in places where 

 it is very common a phosphoric smell is noted. After some 

 days the diseased leaves fall off, the fruits, which also are attacked 

 by the parasite, follow very soon, and the trees are left quite 

 bare. They form, however, new leaves after some months ; but 

 these are again attacked by the fungus. The disease is reported 

 to be more frequent in damp places than in dry ones, its ravages 

 * ' Nature,' July 29th, 1880. 



