750 EXPERIMENT STATION BECOBD. [VoL 35 



pp. 97-109, fig. 1; 9, pp. 113-124). — This continuation and conclusion of the 

 report previously noted (E. S. R., 35, p. 651) records the results of work done 

 in different localities during several years in testing winter wheat and rye as 

 to the protective capability of several standard or commercial fungicides from 

 which benefit was obtained. 



Green vitriol (ferrous sulphate) as a preventive of take-all, G. P. Daenell- 

 Smith (Agr. Gaz. N. S. Wales, 27 (1916), No. 2, p. 134).— It is stated that a 

 considerable amount of loss was caused last season to the wheat crops of 

 New South Wales by take-all, due to Ophiobolus graminis attacking the roots. 



Of the various remedies tried, the application of ferrous sulphate to the soil 

 has given partial success, and it is recommended as a result of experiments 

 that it be tested further at the rate of about 50 lbs. per acre. It is claimed 

 that ferrous sulphate oxidizes the organic matter of humus, hastening its de- 

 composition, that it fixes ammonia in the soil, that it aids the plant in absorb- 

 ing phosphoric acid from the soil, and that even at nonfungicidal strengths it 

 imparts vigor to the plant, enabling it to resist soil parasites. 



Storage rots of economic aroids, L. L. Hartee (f7. S. Dept. Agr., Jour. Agr. 

 Research, 6 {1916), No. 15, pp. 549-572, pis. S, fig. 1). — A report is given of a 

 study of storage rots of a number of species and varieties of Colocasia, Alo- 

 casia, and Xanthosoma. These plants suffer in storage attacks of a number of 

 rots, and in 1912 several organisms were isolated from diseased material and 

 subsequent inoculation experiments were carried on with the organisms. 



Four storage rots are described, Java black rot, found to be caused by 

 Diplodia tubericola, D. maclurw, D. gossypina, and Diplodia zp. from Mangi- 

 fera indica; a powdery gray rot caused by Fusarium solani; Sclerotium rot 

 caused by S. rolfsii; and soft rot caused by Bacillus carotovorus. All the 

 organisms are wound parasites, and their parasitism was established by in- 

 oculation experiments. Relatively dry conditions favor attack by the Java 

 black rot organism, while moisture was required for successful infection by 

 the other organisms. High temperatures were more favorable to attack than 

 low temperatures, B. carotovorus alone producing decay at an average tempera- 

 ture below 9° C. (48.2° F.). 



Beets attacked by Cercospora beticola, E. Saillabd {Compt. Rend. Acad. 

 Set. [Paris], 162 {1916), No. 1, pp. ^7-49). — Sugar beets were visibly injured 

 during 1915 by the presence of C beticola, which was recorded from several 

 regions in France. The crop was reduced both in quantity and in quality as 

 regards sugar content and the presence of nitrogen compounds. In some ways 

 the anomalies observed were similar to those noted for the dry year 1911. 

 Tabulated results for 1907 and for 1909 to 1912 are given and for 1915 in 

 greater detail. 



New diseases of cucumber in Sweden, J. Eriksson {Centbl. Bakt. [etc.], 

 2. Abt., 44 {1915), No. 1-4, pp. 116-128, figs. 10; abs. in Rev. G&ti. Bot., 27 {1915), 

 No. 323, p. 351).— A further account (E. S. R., 32, p. 641) is given of the history 

 of the three fungi Cladosporium cucumerinum, Cercospora melonis, and CoZ- 

 letotri<thum lagenarium. 



Conditions favoring attack on cucumber by these fungi include breeding 

 methods which produce weak or susceptible plants, and close and intensive 

 culture, preventing the maintenance of hygienic conditions. Propagation is 

 thought to occur possibly through the seedlings, involving a mycoplasm and a 

 plasma stage similar to that claimed to be concerned in rust of cereals and 

 mallows. Recommendations for control include frequent washings, aeration 

 and soil renewal in the hot house, and the destruction of all plants not known 

 to be free from infection. 



