THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 699 



One Cause of the Failure of Tomatoes to Set Fruit. 



The attention of the State Commission has been called by various 

 truck gardeners in and around Sacramento to the failure of tomato 

 vines to set fruit after a large number of blossoms had formed. The 

 vines were thrifty and blossomed well. The flowers would hang on 

 the vines for a certain period of time, then fall off, leaving part of 

 the peduncle attached to the stem. 



Specimens were sent to Mr. H. S. Fawcett, then plant pathologist of 

 the State Commission, who determined the fungus as a species of 

 Macrosporium, possiblj^ that species known to cause the late blight of 

 potatoes and the fruit spot of tomatoes. The writer placed several 

 stems and blossoms of an infested tomato plant in a moist chamber for 

 several weeks, and on examination, thousands of spores of this fungus 

 were obtained. 



A grower used 10 pounds of precipitated sulphur to 100 gallons of 

 Vv'ater on his tomato vines which had hitherto failed to set fruit, and 

 was rewarded by a fair crop of tomatoes. Mr. H. S. Fawcett advised 

 the use of Bordeaux mixture in an experimental way. 



