ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 483 



stemonitis has been proved to be a parasite, but the damage does not go 

 very deeply into the tissue of the tuber. Fusarium oxysporum has been 

 the cause of very considerable loss, while Phytophtkora, Rhizoctonia, and 

 Bacteria add largely to the score. An account is given of the feeding of 

 pigs with more or less diseased tubers, and the results on the health of 

 the animals is stated ; they were not affected unless the potatoes were 

 very badly diseased. 



Potato Scab in America. — W. J. Morse * states that the disease is 

 caused by a minute parasitic fungus Oospora scabies. It has increased 

 greatly during the last few years, and the bulletin has been issued to 

 warn growers of the serious nature of the disease and to advise them as 

 to remedies. Morse recommends the use of sulphur on the land, which 

 tends to acidify the soil, a condition inimical to the fungus, but above 

 all he advises disinfection of seed potatoes to prevent the propagation of 

 the fungus. Soaking them in formalin solution has been found of value, 

 or exposing them to formaldehyde gas. Morse explains the best methods 

 of applying the gas. 



A second paper f by the same author treats of potato diseases 

 generally : early blight due to Alter naria Solani ; late blight to Phytoph- 

 tkora infestans, and forms of scab. He discusses the various methods 

 of spraying, disinfecting, etc., and gives results of experiments with 

 fungicides, etc. 



Fungi Parasitic on the Vine Phylloxera.^ — P. Baccarini received 

 from G. B. Grassi some Phylloxeras that had evidently been killed by 

 fungi ; the bodies of the insects were almost munrmified, being pene- 

 trated and filled by brown hyphge. He describes the different fungus 

 fructifications that he noted in cultures on media in which he had placed 

 the insects, some on one and some on another. They were species 

 of Cladosporium, Macrosporium, Fusarium, Phoma, Altemaria, and 

 Penicillium. Descriptions of these fungi are given. 



Fungi Parasitic on Hevea brasiliensis.§ — The culture of this 

 plant has developed enormously in Ceylon of late years, with the 

 increased demand for indiarubber, and has become subject to a number 

 of parasitic and other fungi, some of which cause great damage. 

 T. Petch has followed the growth of these fungi, and writes an 

 account of them. He gives a historical sketch of the indiarubber 

 culture in Ceylon, explaining the conditions that prevail and that are 

 more or less favourable to the spread of the parasites. The young 

 plants in the nurseries are well protected by coco-nut leaves from the 

 sun and the rain, and any leaves that are exposed become covered with 

 spots on which several leaf fungi settle ; such are Helminthosporium 

 H&vece, Pestalozzia palmarum, Gla'osporium elasticce, G. Hevea, and 

 several other members of the fungi imperfecti. Petch deals next with 

 the root fungi, and much of the root trouble he attributes to the custom 

 of leaving stumps in the ground when trees are felled : these are the 



* Maine Agric. Stat., Bull. No. 141, 1907, pp. 81-92. 

 t Op. cit., No. 149, pp. 287-330 (figs.). 

 t Bull. Soc. Bot. Ital., 1908, pp. 10-16 (figs. a-g). 

 § Zeitschr. Pflanzenkr., xviii. (1908) pp. 81-92. 



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