250 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD, 



The Japanese plum was found to be affected in the same way as is reported 

 for the peach. 



Som.e observations concerning the American gooseberry mildew during 

 the summer of 1906, G. Liind (K. LaiKlthr. AkaU. ftaiiill. ocli Tklskr., .>,(!J1!I(I7) , 

 No. 1, pp. G')-13). — A discussion of tlie appearance of the fungus in Sweden, the 

 susceptibility of different varieties of gooseberries to the disease, i)reventive 

 measures, etc. — v. w. woll. 



A coffee disease in Salvador, D. J. Guzman {Com. Par. Ayr. [Mexico] Clrc. 

 60, pp. 2Ji, pix. G). — A- description is given of a disease of coffee due to attacks 

 of Htnj)U))i flavidiiiii, together with observations I'egarding the distribution of 

 the fungus, and its effect on the crop. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture is said 

 to hold it in check. Under the prevailing conditions the disease seems most 

 favored during the months from March to May, i)articularly on those estates 

 where the cultural conditions are favorable for the development of the fungus. 



The fungus parasites of the tea plant, N. N. von Speschnew (Die I'Uzpura- 

 siten des Teestrauches. Berlin: R. FriedUinder tC- Son, 1901, pp. 50, pis. '/).— 

 A report is given on the various species of parasitic fungi known to occur upon 

 the tea plant, most of the information being drawn from the author's investiga- 

 tions in the Caucasus, but supplemented by data from other tea-growing coun- 

 tries. The fungi, of which 22 species are described, are grouped according to 

 whether they occur on the leaves, stems, or roots. After technical descriptions 

 of the different species and accounts of their distributit>n, injury caused, etc., 

 suggestions are given for their control by spraying or by cultural methods, so 

 far as any are known. 



A serious chestnut disease, W. A. Murrill {Jour. N. Y. Bot. Oard., 7 {1906), 

 Nos. 78, pp. 1.1,3-133, fu/.s. 7; 81, pp. 203-211, fif/n. 6').— Attention is called to a 

 serious disease of a native chestnut tree, which is said to threaten the extinc- 

 tion of this valui^ble tree in and about New York City. The same disease is 

 said to have been found in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. 



The number of dead and dying chestnut trees led to the suspicion that the 

 trouble was due to a fungus, and cultures were made whicli readily developed 

 on agar, bean stems, sterilized chestiuit twigs, etc. 



The fungus works beneath the cortex in the layi'rs of inner bark and cam- 

 bium, and its presence is first indicated by the death of the cortex and the 

 change of its color to a pale brown, resembling that of a dead leaf. Later the 

 fruiting pustules push through the lenticels and give the bark a rough, .warty 

 appearance. In its effect on the host, the fungus may be classed as a destructive 

 parasite, young trees often being destroyed in 1 or 2 years, while older ones 

 lose their branches to such an extent as to materially impair the vigor of the 

 tree. The fungus, while l)eing primarily in.juri<)us to the living tissues, causes 

 greater damage by its habit of girdling the stems and twigs, thus cutting them 

 off from further development. 



At present the method b.v which the fungus enters the tree is a matter of con- 

 jecture, but it probably gains entrance thntugh wounds, as the author's experi- 

 ments failed to produce the disease as long as the thin brown la.ver of the 

 cortex remained intact. 



Experiments in whicli young trees were sjtrayed with Bordeaux mixture did 

 not give very satisfactory results. 



In the second paper, which was issued early in the fall, the author reports the 

 rapid spread of the disease throughout the New York Botanic Gardens, so that 

 hardly a tree has escaped infection. So far as known, the fungus does not 

 • attack any other species of tree, either in this country or m Europe. The organ- 

 ism has been recognized as a species of Diaporthe. 



