482 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



He is impressed with the necessity of grouping in this manner the pests 

 of tropical plants. First on the list of fungal parasites he places 

 Hemihia vastatrix, the Uredine of which the life-history was worked 

 ont by Marshall Ward. Faber goes over the ground again, and describes 

 in detail the different spores, their germination and development, and 

 their growth on the host-plant. He gives an account of the annual 

 attack of the fungus, the spores of which are dispersed by the monsoon. 

 The leaves are destroyed by the fungus and fall from the trees, then 

 follows a loss in flower and fruit, owing to the weakened condition of 

 the tree. Very great damage has been caused by this fungus ; an account 

 is given of the varying degrees of susceptibility of the different varieties 

 of coffee plants, and methods of combating the disease are also dis- 

 cussed. Another disease, due to a Corticium, on the branches and leaves, 

 is also fully dealt with. Pellicularia kohroga forms a black-rot or leaf- 

 rot ; it appeared first in Jamaica, but has been detected in Java, India, 

 and Venezuela. It is chiefly a leaf-disease. Other leaf-diseases are 

 Glmosporium coffeanum, Cercospora coffeicola, and Oolletotrichum coffea- 

 num, all of which cause spots on the leaves, and lower the vitality of 

 the host-plant. 



Diseases of Plants.*— The pathologist to the Board of Agriculture 

 reports on specimens of gooseberry plants from Dunstable, which were 

 found to be covered by a harmless Phoma ; seed -potatoes from Chester 

 were infested with Macrosporium Solani, causing brown patches in the 

 interior of the tuber ; potatoes from Feltham were attacked by Phytoph- 

 thora. 



H. T. Giissowj records a new tomato disease for this country, 

 whither it has evidently been imported from the Continent. The plants 

 are attacked by Septoria Lycopersici, which develops on the leaves and 

 destroys them. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture is recommended as 

 soon as the disease appears ; badly attacked plants should be cut back 

 or destroyed by burning. 



Some other cases of disease are recorded ; % Gymnosporhmi clavarice 

 orme was found on pink thorn, distorting the branches, and violet root- 

 rot, Rhizoctonia violacea, was causing the decay of stored potatoes. 



D. v. Hegyi § describes cases of crumpling and distortion in wheat, 

 caused sometimes by an insect and sometimes by the fungus Hehnintho- 

 sporium gramimum, or by unfavourable weather conditions. 



A. Stift || publishes a long review of all the cases of disease recorded 

 as occurring on beet and potato during the year 1907, including insect 

 as well as fungus attacks. On beet he notes chiefly Phoma Betce, 

 Peronospora Schachtii, Uromyces Betce, etc., discussing the causes in soil 

 or climate that favour their development. A series of fungi that attack 

 potatoes is next dealt with. Phytophthora infestans was of less im- 

 portance than some other diseases. Phellomyces sclerotiophorus has 

 been found to be the stroma of Sptondylocladium atrovirens ; Stysanus 



* Jouru. Board of Agric, xv. (1908) p. 47. 



t Tom. cit., pp. 111-15 (figs.). J Tomcit., pp. 119-20. 



§ Zeitschv. Pflanzenkr., xvii. (1907) pp. 334-6. 



|| Centralbl. Bakt., xxi. (1908) pp. 117-43. 



