PHEVIOLS INVESTIGATIONS. 11 



ofestion a con.siderablo variety of substances was tried hy the cran- 

 berry growers, incliulin<r lime, copperas, salt, and sidpliur. Little 

 or no benefit, however, seems to have been derived from these appli- 

 cations, and the diseases continued to cause serious loss, varvinjr 



7 ^ ^ 



somewhat in different seasons as the climatic and other conditions 

 chanced to be favorable to their development or otherwise. 



Schroeter,- in 187!), in discussing a sclerotium disease of the fruit 

 of Vdcchihini inyrtillm^, mentions the American cranberry disease 

 which had been described by Taylor and exj)ressed his belief that the 

 troul)le was due to a parasitic fungus, either the same or one similar 

 to that which he found in Europe. lie had seen no specimens, how- 

 ever. Supposing the disease to be due to Sderotinia, he recom- 

 mended the application of lime and suggested Hooding the vines just 

 before the spores are formed. 



Woronin '* in 1888 in treating of Sclerothiid oxycocci refers to the 

 cranberrv disease of the eastern United States and sujrwsts that it 

 is caused by this fungus. This opinion Avas not based on an examina- 

 tion of specimens, however, but on Doctor Taylor's accounts of the 

 disease. If the disease were caused bv Sderotinia he thou<rht it 

 could be eradicated by collecting and burning all the munnuied 

 berries. 



Xo species, of Sderotinia has yet been found on cranberries in the 

 East so far as known, but. as will be seen later, one has been found 

 in Wisconsin. 



In 1889, Dr. Byron D. Halsted.^" of the Ncav Jersey Experiment 

 Station, undertook a study of the cranberrv diseases, and as a result 

 ])ublished a bulletin and several briefer reports on the subject. 

 Doctor Halsted ^ recognized the parasitic nature of the disease, and 

 described and illustrated, Avithout name, the two stages of the fungus 

 Avhich produces cranberry scald.. On account of his finding fun- 

 gous hyphse in the stems and roots of plants bearing rotten or scalded 

 berries, he concluded that the parasite infested the soil and perhaps 

 gained entrance to the plant, in part at least, by Avay of the roots. He 

 consequently thought that remedies should be directed chiefly toward 

 the improvement "of soil conditions." though later he recommended 

 spraying with a solution of ammoniacal copper carbonate.^- In his 

 later publication ^" he says : " It seems well established that the 

 fungus infests all parts of the plants and may enter the berry by 

 means of the fihiments which grow from the stem directly into the 

 green berry, or by spores lodging upon the surface, the germ threads 

 penetrating the fruit." Doctor Halsted ^'' also investigated the cran- 

 berry gall disease, which will be referred to later. 



Some work on cranberry diseases has also been done at the Wis- 

 consin Agi'icultural Experiment Station. This Avill be referred to 

 later in discussing the diseases. 



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