282 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



pall orfrnnisms. A new and dcstniotive disease of tomatoes in ^licli- 

 igan is also receivin<x attention, lield treatnieiits being under way by 

 Mr. W. A. Orton, of this Bureau. Many bacterial diseases of plants 

 are being studied as opportunity alTords, and researches on banana 

 diseases, esjiecially a very destructive blight of the whole plant, have 

 also been made. 



PATHOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS AND INSPECTION WORK. 



The collections of specimens of pathological material and the work 

 connected therewith have continued in charge of Mrs. Flora W. Pat- 

 terson, Mycologist. Numerous critical identifications have been made 

 for experiment-station workers, collaborators, correspondents, and 

 others interested in pathological work. 



Additions to the collections. — The value of the collections has 

 been increased by the addition of several new and rare sets of ex- 

 siccata) during the past year. Among these is the collection of 

 Guatemalan fungi made by the late Dr. W. A. Kellerman. The speci- 

 mens of this set are only partly identified and will receive attention 

 during the present year. Several new fungi on economic plants have 

 been described and published during the year, and the laboratory 

 work on the treatment of pineapple rot by formaldehyde gas has 

 been completed. Certain new fungi found on material received 

 through the Office of Seed and Plant Introduction have been studied 

 and remedial measures promptly taken for their control. The patho- 

 logical inspection of material so received has been continued. 



Usefulness of the collections. — The bibliographical phase of the 

 work in connection with the systematic insertion of specimens has 

 been kept up to date and the indexes present a valuable means of 

 assistance to all workers in mycological and pathological lines. It is 

 proposed to verify certain data relating to valuable old sets or speci- 

 mens in the herbarium by consultation of other large herbaria, thus 

 greatly increasing the usefulness of the collections. Cooperative work 

 on entomogenous fungi, cultural and systematic, is being extended, 

 as its importance is increasing and the collections offer the best 

 opportunity for such study. Attention is also being given to the 

 identification of fungi from Guatemala, Hawaii, and Bermuda, 



FRUIT-DISEASE INVESTIGATIONS. 



The investigations of fruit diseases have been conducted, as in pre- 

 vious years, in charge of Mr. M. B. Waite, Pathologist, with the in- 

 vestigation of the diseases of grapes and small fruits in immediate 

 charge of Dr. C. L. Shear and spraying demonstrations in charge of 

 'Mr. W. M. Scott. 



Cedar rust of the apple. — There has been a notable outbreak in 

 the season of 1910 of cedar rust or orange rust of the apple in the 

 Eastern States. This disease has been increasing in severity for the 

 last three years and has become serious in many sections of Virginia 

 and over an area extending from middle Pennsylvania to eastern 

 Tennessee, more particularly in the mountains and mountain valleys. 

 This has occupied some of the attention of the investigators, particu- 

 larly in the spraying experiments on the apple. For several years 



