DISEASES OF PLANTS. 451 



servations on Peridermium fllamentosum, P. harJcnessii, P. montanum, P. colo- 

 radense, and Melampsorella clatina occuring on coniferous and other trees in 

 some of the western National Forests. 



The chestnut bark disease, H. Metcalf (U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1912, 

 pp. 363-372, pis. 4). — A popular description is given of the chestnut bark dis- 

 ease, due to Endothia parasitica. This disease is said to be distributed from 

 Merrimack County, New Hampshire, and Warren County, New York, to Albe- 

 marle County, Virginia, and westward to Livingston County, New York, War- 

 ren and Somerset counties, Pennsylvania, and Randolph County, West Virginia. 

 These latter locations of infection are said to owe their origin to diseased 

 chestnut nurseiy stock. The different lines of investigation and control that 

 are being carried on are described and advice given for the individual treat- 

 ment of diseased trees, to che^nut orchardists, and to owners of ornamental 

 chestnut trees and of chestnut woodland. 



The spotting of plantation Para ruber, K. Bancroft {Dept. Agr. Fed. 

 Malay States Bui. 16, pp. 30, pis. 3). — The author discusses the appearance, 

 symptoms, causation, and treatment of discoloration of plantation rubber in 

 Ceylon and the Malay States, giving a description thereof and an account of the 

 changes produced thereby. 



Investigations showed the presence and possible causative action of Bacillus 

 prodigiosus and of four fungi, Monascus hetcrosporus, Thyridaria tarda, My- 

 cogotie sp., and Spondylocladium maculans n. sp., in the spotted rubber. The 

 germination and growth of three of these in latex have been demonstrated. 

 One was employed to reproduce the coloring in prepared rubber artificially 

 and again isolated. Clear patches of unsmoked sheet showed mycelium and 

 spores of several kinds, usually species of Penicillium and Aspergillus. Other 

 organisms, one a red yeast, were obtained from the red spots. Three of the 

 above fungi were isolated from the racks upon which the rubber was hung, 

 also from jungle poles, and spores were readily obtained from the air. Oil, dirt, 

 and chemical changes also caused discolorations. 



Smoking, drying at high temperatures, and isolation are mentioned as pro- 

 tective measures. Most of the ordinary chemical treatments are barred because 

 of injurious effects on the rubber. Drying and thorough washing are said to 

 remove the milder degrees of spotting. 



A new wood-destroying' fung'us, Adeline Ames {Bot. Gaz., 55 {WIS), No. 5, 

 pp. 397-899, figs. 6).— A description is given of a polyporous fungus received 

 at the Cornell University laboratory from Alabama where it was reported as 

 growing upon a stairway and floor situated near water pipes. The wood on 

 which the fungus was growing consisted of bald cypress and long leaf pine, 

 and in advanced stages of decay it was of a dark brown color, checked into 

 small cubes. 



A study of the fungus seemed to indicate that it was an undescribed species, 

 and it is provisionally placed in the genus Poria. The name given it is P. 

 atrnsporia n. sp., a technical description of which is given. 



Notes on the wetting' power of fungicides, V. Vermorel and E. Dantony 

 {Compt. Rend. Acad. Sd. [Paris], 156 {1913), No. 19, pp. 11,75, 1J,76 ; Prog. 

 Agr. et Vit. {Ed. VEst-Gentre), 34 {1913), No. 21, pp. 657, 6.5S).— As a result of 

 their investigations, the authors recommend the use of gelatin with copper 

 fungicides which are acid in reaction and casein with those which are alkaline. 

 These substances may be added in quantities varying from 20 to 50 gm. per 

 hectoliter of fungicide. 



