1917] DISEASES OF PLANTS. 351 



and foliage, and it is proposed that those be designated drought dieback and 

 drought rosette. 



Corii is said to affect chiefly the Fameuse variety. In addition to occurring 

 in New Yorli, it is also linown to be present In Ontario and New South Wales. 

 The drought spot has been reported from Maine and Virginia, while a closely 

 related trouble is said to occur in the Pacific Northwest. Rosette has been re- 

 ported from Colorado, California, and Idaho, and both rosette and dieback 

 occur in the irrigated sections of Washington and Oregon. It is claimed that 

 in the Champlain Valley certain orchards and even individual trees are more 

 affected than others. 



In infected trees, cork is evident late in June as dead brown spots beneath 

 the skin of the fruit or around the core. Later the fruit becomes distorted and 

 knobby, and brown corky spots are said to occur throughout the flesh. Drought 

 spot occurs in early June and fresh stages may develop throughout the summer 

 if the weather continues dry. Superficial or sunken dead brown spots show in 

 the skin of the fruit and dead brown areas may occur in the flesh beneath. In 

 later stages, the apples become cracked and deformed. The internal spots of 

 both diseases are in close proximity to branches of the vascular system. 



Die-back associated with drought spot is characterized by the death of the 

 twigs from the tips backward. The dead twig may be replaced by a healthy 

 lateral from the base, but often there is found near the base of the twig a ro- 

 sette-like cluster of dwarfed leaves. This appearance and one in which a 

 compact cluster of similarly dwarfed leaves crowns a long, bare twig have been 

 included under the name rosette. 



From field observations it appears that these diseases may occur on the best 

 types of soil and under conditions of careful culture. Poor moisture supply 

 seems to be connected with their occurrence, and a drought accompanied by high, 

 dry winds appears to bring on a large amount of the diseases. It is said that 

 these troubles may appear to a limited extent in a rainy season when lack of 

 moisture can not be considered their sole cause. This is believed, however, to 

 be the predisposing factor, though other as yet unknown factors may be 

 operative. 



Conservation of soil moisture and even distribution of moisture throughout 

 the season are thought to be the only satisfactory methods of control. 



Rhizopus rot of strawberries in transit, N. E. Stevens and R. B. Wilcox 

 {U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 531 [1917), pp. 22, fig. i).— In continuation of previous 

 investigations (E. S. R., 35, p. 458), the authors give an account of field and 

 laboratory studies of the rot of strawberries due to R. nigricans, with special 

 reference to the relation of the disease to packing house and shipping problems. 

 This fungus is said to cause serious deterioration of strawberries during transit, 

 the fruit softening and collapsing with the liberation of much juice, but it has 

 not been found of primary importance as a cause of field rot, as it usually de- 

 velops in the berries some time after they are picked. Conditions of shipping 

 have been found to influence the development of the disease, the growth of the 

 fungus increasing rapidly at temperatures above 50° F. 



In some packing houses the berries are washed ; and if they are packed with- 

 out drying, the evaporation of the water, by cooling the berries, seems to retard 

 the development of rot ; but if they are dried before packing, especially by ex- 

 posure to direct sunlight, the amount of decay is usually greatly increased. It 

 is believed that proper cooling and refrigeration of the berries from the time 

 they are picked imtil they are marketed will reduce the losses from this rot. 



The control of American g'ooseberry mildew by spraying, F. R. Pether- 

 BRiDGE and A, C. Cole (Jour. Bd. Agr. [London], 23 {1916), No. 8, pp. 750- 



