256 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



to innumerable nematodes or thread-worms. So far this disease has 

 not been met with in Victoria, but Dr. Cobb figures a specimen in the 

 Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales, 1897, page 244, in which 

 the surface is covered with numerous lumps, and he estimates that the 

 one potato contained at least 10,000 eggs and worms. One should 

 be careful in the matter of seed-potatoes, and utterly reject all those 

 which have such knobs or blisters on their surface, as it is a sure 

 means of permanently infesting the land with the thread-worm. And 

 this gall-worm is not particular as to the kind of plants it attacks, for 

 it is equally at home in the orchard, the vineyard, the forest, or the 

 garden, and may be found on the peach or orange tree, the tomato or 

 beet, the cabbage or the maize. 



Seleroti'um disease. — Potato plants were forwarded to me in March 

 by Inspector Cock which were decaying above ground and tubers 

 underground did not mature. The stems were the parts particularly 

 affected, and they became dry and brittle, finally falling down. On 

 examination, numerous little black hard bodies, like L^mall shot, were 

 found in the interior of the stem, and these are known as sclerotia. 

 This is a form which a number of fungi assume when they have used 

 up all the available food and pass into winter quarters in order to 

 prepare for renewed activity in the coming spring. When the stems 

 lying on the ground decay and break up, these little black bodies are 

 set free and rest until the next spring, when they produce innumer- 

 able spores or seed-like bodies. These germinate at once and grow 

 luxuriantly among decaying matter, from which the fungus threads 

 readily pass to living plants, attacking the young stems just about the 

 collar. Here they soon spread and absorb the material which would 

 otherwise go to build up a healthy potato plant. When the supply 

 of food is exhausted, the fungus passes into the sclerotium stage and 

 again repeats the process already described. 



From the very nature of this fungus it will be seen that clean 

 cultivation is essential, so that no decaying refuse is allowed to form 

 a harbour for it. 



Diseased portions of the plant should also be collected and burnt, 

 before the sclerotia are set free, in order to get rid of them. 



Where this disease has occurred, it would be advisable to apply a 

 dressing of lime to the soil, as it would tend to destroy the early 

 stages of the fungus before it had attacked the living plant. 



Since decaying matter is essential to its early existence, fi'esh 

 stable manure on the surface of the soil greatly encourages its spread. 



Black Leg of Caulifloweb. 



This .disease was rather prevalent during the past season, and 

 some very bad specimens were forwarded from South Australia. In 

 previous reports the fungus causing this disease has been described 

 and methods of treatment given. It was pointed out that the 

 danger arises in the seed-bed, and the only means of checkmating 

 this fungus is to sow seed in absolutely new ground, where no cauli- 

 flower, cabbage or turnip has previously been grown. If such ground 



