588 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



septate, so that the occurrence of the variation suggests a very close 

 relationship between the genera. The variously septate spores do not 

 vary much in size. 



Diseases of Greenhouse Tomatoes.* — M. T. Cooke and 0. A.. 

 Schwarze have described two diseases— one on the leaves, the other on 

 tlie fruits of the tomato plant — in New Jersey. The former is due to one 

 of the SpbgeropsideaB, Ascochyia Ly coper sici. It grows on somewhat 

 circular spots on the leaves, and very generally forms pycnidia and spores. 

 It has been recorded on weak tomato plants in Italy and France, but in 

 New Jersey it grew on both old and new leaves of vigorous plants. The 

 fruit-rot was found to be due to a species of Botrytis. 



Disease of Red Cedar. t — James R. Weir describes a serious disease 

 of this tree due to Keithia thnjina, which attacks the leaves. The 

 apothecia of the fungus are embedded in the scale-like leaves of the 

 host, and become exposed by the rupture of the epidermis. At first 

 they are a rich olive-brown, but become almost black with exposure. 

 The spores are peculiar ; they are almost glol>ose when mature, are 

 deeply pitted, and have a minute cell cut off at the distal end. 



Seedlii'gs are peculiarly liable to attack, but the foliage of the upper 

 crown of large forest trees may become diseased, though not to the same 

 extent as the brandies near the ground. Treatment with soap-Bordeaux 

 solution was found effective in dealing with the disease. 



Inky Disease of Chestnut-trees. | — Giovanni Briosi and Rodolfo 

 Farneti have reviewed the various publications on this disease, and they 

 insist that it is due to a Coryneum, and not to Endothia radkalis. The 

 latter fungus, which is generally considered to be the cause of the 

 trouble, is, according to the authors, a saprophyte that occurs on a 

 number of different trees. Tliey give an account of their own 

 inoculation experiments which led them to this conclusion. 



Disease of Bamboos. § — Malusio Turconi has investigated a disease 

 that attacked a number of bamboo plants in the botanical garden at 

 Pavia. The damaged branches were partly or entirely dry, whitened, 

 and covered with minute black points. He found that these were due 

 to the acervula of a MelanconiKm new to science, which he has called 

 M. Bamhusse. Later in the year stromata were formed, and ascigerous 

 perithecia belonging to the genus Scirrhia, named by Turconi S. Bambusse. 

 Proof of the parasitic nature of the fungi was successfully adduced by 

 infection experiments on young branches. 



Verticillium Disease of the Potato. |1 — This disease, described by 

 G. Pethybridge, is due to the hyphomycetous fungus Verticillium 



* Phytopathology, vi. (1916) pp. 364-6 (1 fig.). 

 t Phytopathology, vi (1916) pp. .360-3 (2 figs.), 

 t Atti 1st. Bot. Pavia, xvi. (1916) pp. 213-24. 

 § Atti 1st. Bot. Pavia, xvi. (1916) pp. 245-52 (1 pi.). 

 II Sci. Proc. Rov. Dublin Soc, xv. (1916) pp. 68-92 (2 pis.). 



