782 EXl'KKIMKNT STATION RECORD. 



given theviiu's. At tlie station :\ sprayinjis incrrascil the yiclil S8 bii. per acre and 5 

 si)rayinj,'s ISS hn. i)er acre. On Lon-,' Island llic incnascl yield due to 8 sprayings 

 was Hi).') l)u. per acre, and when 5 applications were given the vines the increase was 

 5() Itu. per acn-. 



As in the previous year's investigations, the chemical analyses of the tul)ers from 

 sprayed i)lants sliowed that tliey containi-(l a larger i>ercentage of dry matter, mostly 

 starch, than the uusprayed potatoes. 



The object of the cooperative experiments was to overcome the objection often 



made that experiments as conducted by the station d it give results that could be 



obtained in ordinary farm practice. 



In these six cooperative trials 61.166 acres were sprayed. With a single exception, 

 every one of the experiments proved highly successful, and the total increase with 

 the 6 experiments was .S,746 bu., or an average of 61.24 bu. per acre. This increase 

 was worth $1,873, and subtracting from this amount the total expense of si)raying, 

 $296.49, there is a remainder left of $1,576 51, or a net profit of |25.77 per acre, to be 

 attributed to spraying under farm conditions. The details of all experiments are 

 given. 



Should potato growers spray? II, F. H. Hall et al. {New York State Sta. Bui. 

 '241, popular ed., pp. 12, _fi(p. ,?) .— A pojjular summary of the above bulletin. 



Proof of the identity of Phoma and Phyllosticta on the sugar beet, G. G. 

 HEiMiCOCK {Juur. MycoL, 10 {1904), No. 69, pp. 2, S; al>s. in Science, n. .s^r., 19 {1904), 

 No. 474, p. 172). — It has long teen suspected that an intimate relation existed 

 between the leaf Ijlight and root rot of sugar beets, but so far no cultural ])roof has 

 been offered to show their identity. The author reports a large nnml)er of cultures 

 from sugar beets decaying with a tyjacal l)lack crown rot caused by Phoma, and 

 from the peculiar concentric brown leaf spots produced l)y Phyllosticta. 



In all, about 50 cultures were made and no important differences could be deter- 

 mined l)etween the organisms in the different sets. For the purpose of proving the 

 identity of the fungi, sugar beets were grown in the greenhouse and inoculated with 

 the 2 organisms, control plants being main ined, and from both sets leaf spots bear- 

 ing mature pycnidia were taken, the fungus isolated, and pure cultures made with 

 the same results as before. Beets whose roots were sound and healthy but whose 

 leaves were diseased were placed in a moist silo, and in a month or so the petioles 

 had become decayed and the crowns affected witli all the characters of the typical 

 Phoma rot. 



The work reported indicates that in the case of the beet there is only one species 

 of fungus producing these 2 diseases, and according to priority of generic names, the 

 organism should be placed in the genus Phoma. It seems probable that the various 

 sju'cies described upon sugar beets, garden beets, and mangels are identical. 



A note on Rhizoctonia, G. G. Hedocock {Science, n. ser., 19 {1904), No. 470, p. 

 26S). — According to the author, the bean crop in the vicinity of St. Louis was severely 

 injured during the i)ast year by the fungus Rhizoctonia, which not only attacked the 

 stems and larger leaves of the plants, l)ut produced l)rown, sunken areas on the surface 

 of the pods, penetrating the latter and discoloring the seeds. 



Examination of a number of seeds whose surface was discolored disclosed the fact 

 that the mycelium of the fungus had established itself in the seed coat and in many 

 instiinces had formed minute sclerotia without rotting the seed or penetrating the 

 cotyledtins. Pure cultures of the fungus were easily obtained from such seeds and 

 the presence of the organism did not in any way prevent the germination of the seed. 

 From this it follows that the seed may be a common means of disseminating the 

 disease, and on that account discolored beans should not be planted. 



Apple black spot, J. Hamilton {Queemktn(lA(jr. .Tour., 13 {1903), No. G, p. 555). — 

 A brief account is given of experiments in spraying apple trees for the prevention of 

 black spot. Perfect success is said to have followed the thorough spraying of the 



