52 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



of plant (lisoascs and irivps nicthods for rcco^'nizin^' their causes. Suggestious 

 are also given for tlie ja-evention of the diseases where definite means are known. 



The control of plant diseases, H. H. Whktzkl and F. C. Stewart (New York 

 Conirll Std. Bill. ,>■'>.!, pi). ,i',!i-MI, fiijs. /.>). — Brief descriptions are given of the 

 more important fungus diseases attaclcing alfalf.i, apples, asi)aragus, beans, cab- 

 bage, caulitiower, carnations, celery, cherries, chrysanthemums, cucumbers, cur- 

 rants, ginseng, gooseberries, grapes, lettuce, uuiskmelons, oats, onions, peaches, 

 pears, i)lmns, potatoes, quinces, raspberries, roses, strawberries, tomatoes, tur- 

 nijts, and wheat, together with directions for their control. 



Cultures of Uredineae in 1907, J. C. Arthur (Abs, in Science, n. set:, 27 

 (IHOS), \<>. i;s7, p. ,f'/0). — A brief abstract is given of a report on the cultural 

 work carried on by the author during 1I>07. Thirty species of rust were grown 

 with success, S of which are reported for the first time. A rust of Allium was 

 carried tlu'ough its life cycle, and 3 sedge rusts and 2 species of (4ymnosi)o 

 rangium, G. hctlieli and O. incoii.spicuKiii. were connected with their lecidial 

 stages. 



The life history of Puccinia malvacearum, J. B. Dandeno {Kpt. Mich. Acad. 

 ScL, 9 il!)07). pp. 68-73, p(j>i. 5). — The author calls attention to this parasite, 

 which is of interest on account of the fact that, so far as known, it does not 

 produce any other stage of si)ores than teleutospores. On account of this 

 peculiarity, the wintering of the fungus and its sudden spread during the late 

 summer have been subjects of considerable study. 



The author undertook a series of investigations to discover how the fungus 

 passes the winter, in this way testing the statements of others that the disease 

 might pass the winter in the embryo of infected seeds, or that teleutospores pro- 

 duced late in the season acted as resting spores and then germinated in the 

 spring. 



So far as the author's observations have gone, none of the old spores could 

 be inducetl to germinate, and the author claims that the idea of teleutospores 

 wintering the fungus over will have to be abandoned. On examining some 

 mallows very early in the spring the fungus was found present, and it is be- 

 lieved that it winters over in living portions of such infected plants as with- 

 stand the winter. Its slow development in the summer is attributed to the 

 probable fact that the temperature and moisture conditions in the latter part 

 of the summer are best suited for its rapid development and spread. 



Blindness in barley (Jour. Bd. Agr. [London'l, llf (1908), No. 11, pp. 670, 

 671). — A t)rief account is given of the experiments carried on by the agricultural 

 dei)artment of Cambridge I'nlversity in treating barley with fungicides to pre- 

 vent the attack of the disease known as blindness in barley, a disease that is 

 caused by the fungus HcJminthofiporiinii f/raminrinn. 



In the first series of experiments, seeds were treated with a 10 per cent solu- 

 tion of copper sulphate, with formalin, with the mixture known as Sar, and by 

 tlie hot-water method. The results obtained showed that the copper sulphate, 

 while injuring the seed to some extent, was efficient in preventing the disease, 

 and that formalin was nearly as satisfactory, the other methods being much 

 less effective. 



In 1907 formalin was again used in 2 strengths of solution, 1 part in 240 of 

 water and 1 part in KiO of water. For the strcmger solution, only 0.9 per cent 

 of diseased plants was observed, while for the weaker solution, 2.5 per cent was 

 found to be attacked by the fungus. The stronger solution had no bad effect 

 upon the crop, while by cheeking the disease it is believed that the yield of gniin 

 was increased by not less than 25 per cent. There was also a decided increase 

 m the proportion of heavy to light grain. 



