EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 635 



ments reported in a ]>nper entitled ''Variation of Fungi dne to Environ- 

 ment." This article is chiefly devoted to a bionietric study of Septoria 

 fruiting bodies but from it more or less of a description of the organism 

 in pure culture can be gleaned. The Great Britain Agriculture and 

 Fisheries Board (1909) again drew attention to the disease in a popular 

 article taken largely from Giissow's. H. W. Barre (1910) noted the dis- 

 ease and its importance in South Carolina. J. W. Lloyd and I. S. Brooks 

 (1910), Illinois, gave a brief description of "Leaf-Spot." H. S. Reed 

 (1911) reported damage done by the organism in Virginia and gave the 

 most complete description of field conditions of the disease up to that 

 time. Long (1913) gave a popular account of the disease under Eng- 

 lish conditions. J. B. S. Norton (1914), discussing the disease in Mary- 

 land, gave the results of spraying experiments, as well as a summary of 

 the previous spraying tests of other stations. 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE. 



That this disease has long been of importance in different parts of 

 the world is apparent from the reports of N. A. Cobb (1902), D. McAl- 

 pine (1903), G. Kock (1905), and H. T. Giissow (1908), to which refer- 

 ence has already been made. 



In the United States the disease has spread more or less rapidly, par- 

 ticularly within the last few years. The damage resulting from it ranges 

 from three percent to a total loss of the crop. Practically all the states 

 that raise tomatoes to any degree commercially are more or less troubled 

 with leaf-spot, as is shown by the accompanying map (Figure 1) which 

 summarizes data obtained by a questionnaire, addressed to American 

 pathologists. 



The following comments taken from the replies are interesting: 



J. B. S. Norton, of Maryland, in answer to the questionnaire states : 

 ''The disease causes a loss of 10-25 per cent of our tomato crop. The loss 

 will run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not a million." For 

 Missouri, Geo. M. Reed writes: "In some fields perhaps 50% of the early 

 tomato crop is damaged by this disease." N. J. Giddings, of West Vir- 

 ginia: "It is the worst disease which we have on tomatoes in West Vir- 

 ginia." C E. Durst, of Illinois, states: ''This disease coupled with 

 jFusarium Wilt is almost driving the growers out of the business of to- 

 mato growing in that section- (southern Illinois)." C. W. Edgertou, 

 Louisiana, writes: "Not as 3'et common but seems to be spreading rapid- 

 ly. I look for this disease to become serious in this state." It is note- 

 worthy that Septoria leaf-spot has evideuth' ajipeared in Louisiana but 

 recently, H. S. Reed (1905) : "The culture of tomatoes in southwest- 

 ern Virginia is becoming increasingly difficult, due to the serious blight 

 and ])oint rot diseases, which have attacked this croj) annually for the 

 I)ast five years." On the contrary, H. W. Anderson, Wabash College, 

 Indiana, writes: "In this region we consider it a benefit, since it kills 

 off the leaves near the base of the plant and allows the sun to ripen the 

 tomatoes." 



DISTRIBUTION. 



In answer to a questionnaire as to prevalence, the pathologists of thir- 

 ty four states reported the disease as common from the following: Ala- 



