Plant Diseases in the Westeen Province. 



531 



imagine that so many of the fruits would go to waste in the short 

 time which elapsed between packing and inspection at the Docks, 

 Capetown. 



Rhizopus nigricans was also found together with blue mould, 

 Penicilliwrn italicKrn, one of the common moulds affecting oranges, 

 in some of the plums and peaches which had been in store for some 

 time, for exhibition at the Rosebank Show. 



With regard to prei^autionary measures, great care should be 

 exercised in the handling of tlie ^riiits; particuhir care should be 

 taken to prevent injury to the fruit at the stalk end in picking. 

 Fallen fruit should not be allowed to rot under the trees in the 

 orchard, but if not utilizable should be collected and burned, as other- 

 wise it becomes a serious source of infection. It is possible, too, that 

 insects play an important role in the dissemination of the disease. 



A nearly related species, Rhizopus schizans, Mas., has been 

 recorded as being the cause of a split-stone in peaches in Australia, 

 but this fungus has, up to the present, not been found here. 



Fio. 4. 



Chrysanthemum Rust. 



This disease, which is caused by the parasitic fungus Puccinia 

 chrysanthevii Roze, has been fairly common on chrysanthemums at 

 Sea Point this season. 



As I find many people either altogether fail to notice diseases in 

 their plants, except when such diseases are so noticeable as to make 

 non-detection impossible, or else are apt to ascribe well-known fungus 

 diseases to the depredations of insects or to unsuitable soil conditions, 

 I am including a photograph here (figure 3) of a chrysanthemum leaf 

 attacked by this fungus. The disease makes itself evident in 

 numerous small brown pustules on the leaves, chietiy on the under 

 surface. On careful examination it will be seen that a brown powder 

 is formed in these pustules; this consists of numerous minute spores 

 which spread the disease. Figure 4 is a somewhat diagrammatic 

 drawing of a section of a piece of chrysanthemum leaf passing through 

 one of the pustules; in this figure, a is the upper epidermis of the 

 leaf, 6 are the cells of the leaf tissi;e, r is a fairly compact mass of 



