REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST 259 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



manner : First, place a propolis quilt over the brood, turn back one corner for an open- 

 ing, place a super full of one-half filled sections above, uncap all parts of the sections 

 that are not already uncapped, and the bees will very soon empty them and take the 

 honey into their brood chamber. The emptied sections may then be taken off and put 

 away for future use. A good plan to dispose of partly filled sections is to cut each one 

 into small pieces, say two or three, according to amount in them, and sell them at ex- 

 hibitions, &c. 



John Fixter. 



DIVISION OF BOTANY 



MAPLE SEED BLIGHT 



{Fusarium, sp.). 



During the past summer a serious enemy to the Ash-leaved Maple (N eg undo 

 aceroides, Mcench) appeared at Indian Head and in the surrounding district. An ac- 

 count of this outbreak was reported to me by Mr. George Batho, of the Nor -West 

 Farmer, and, when Dr. Saunders was making his annual visit of inspection at In- 

 dian Head, specimens were collected and sent to Ottawa. Material was, at the same 

 time, sent to Mr. Galloway, of the Department of Agriculture, Washington, who re- 

 ports upon it as follows : ' The maple seeds are thoroughly infested with a fungus 

 resembling Fusarium. This fungus is undoubtedly the cause of the failure of the 

 seeds to fill. It is very difficult to combat diseases of this kind on such large trees as 

 the maple. The spores of the fungus are very abundant at present on the seeds, and 

 undoubtedly much might be done to prevent a recurrence of this trouble by gathering 

 the diseased seeds and burning them. If possible, the trees should be sprayed with 

 some good fungicide like Bordeaux mixture. It would be best to do the spraying next 

 season, beginning early and repeating the applications at intervals of about two weeks 

 until the danger is over. It is possible that it would not be practicable to spray, in 

 which case very little can be done except to gather the diseased seeds and burn them.' 



Dr. Saunders found the seeds on maples similarly injured in the vicinity of Re- 

 gina, and as far as Pense. On reaching Medicine Hat, however, the seed on the trees 

 was found to be perfectly healthy. The importance of the Ash-leaved Maple as a shade 

 tree in the West can hardly be over-estimated, and millions of young trees are every 

 year being grown from the seed. Should this disease which has the effect of destroying 

 the kernel of the seed before it fills out, continue, it will be necessary for those wishing 

 to grow young trees from the seed to obtain the seed from some other locality. The 

 disease is, I believe, a temporary outbreak, and hardly likely to last for any great 

 length of time. There is no record of seeds having been similarly affected in previous 

 years. 



When trees are affected with this disease the seeds begin to show the injury by 

 the edges of the wing becoming bleached and spotted, and the seeds fail to fill. There 

 was very little indication of this injury to maple seeds when I was at Indian Head 

 in the beginning of July, but it was very noticeable by the middle of August. Mr. 

 D. G. Mackay, who has charge of the forestry plantations at the Experimental Farm 

 at Indian Head, estimates the loss at 90 per cent of the whole crop of seeds. This is 

 a serious loss, as every year large quantities of this seed are collected for distribution 

 to those who wish to plant them. 



THE POPLAR RUST 



[Melampsora populina, (Jacq.) Lev.]. 



In travelling through the North-west Territories last summer I found the Aspen 

 Poplar (Populus tremuloides, Mx.) very badly affected by the fungous disease, known 

 16— I7i 



