S. (I. Paine 71 



Herefordshire, and is probably wide-spread throughout the country 

 although no statistics are available as to its occurrence in the North or 

 in Ireland. 



Bacterial Blight of Tomatoes. 



Symptoms. When the tomato is quite small a minute blackish patch 

 appears at the base of the style and from this focus the disease spreads 

 until finally the whole fruit is reduced to a blackish soft decayed mass. 

 It has been stated (27) that infection takes place during the flowering 

 period and that needle prick infection from diseased tissue will set up 

 disease in a healthy tomato. 



In view of the fact that Brooks (8) holds that bacteria are not the 

 primary cause of disease the matter badly needs further investigation in 

 this country. 



Leaf Spot Disease of Orchid. 



Prof. Potter has described a bacterial blister on the leaves of Odonto- 

 glossum uro-skinnerii^Q), the epidermis being raised by an accumula- 

 tion of brown mucilaginous substance caused by the action of some 

 organism which is not fully described. 



Bacterial Disease of Pisum sativum. 



An interesting closed bacterial disease somewhat analogous to the 

 closed smut of barley. The organism is present in the cotyledons of the 

 seed, germinates with the seed, enters the plumule and passes up the 

 stem of the plant in the motile stage and is to be found in the seed and 

 the seed pod. It has been investigated by Miss D. M. Cayley(iO) at the 

 John Innes Horticultural Institution where for some years it has caused 

 much trouble. 



Symptoms of the disease. In the worst cases the badly infected seed 

 fails to germinate, but usually the primary shoot develops from the 

 infected seed, soon turns brown at the tip, aborts, and lateral shoots 

 develop prematurely to take its place. Sometimes on the youngest shoots 

 brown streaks are to be seen but otherwise there is no sign of disease until 

 the flowering period. The disease develops most rapidly in hot dry 

 weather, the stem becomes brownish and has a water-soaked appearance, 

 brown longitudinal streaks appear on the stem at the base of the petioles, 

 the leaves become spotted and yellowish with darkened veins and the 

 surface of the pod is sometimes roughened or embossed. Except in bad 

 cases the plants grow to full height, flower and set a fair crop of seed but 



