with the history, symptoms, and prevention of the disease wliieli 

 had in some districts proven serious. 



The occurrence of the fungus in St. Croix, American Virgin 

 Islands, is noted hy Dr. Longfield Smith (68. 69) in his annual reports. 

 It has been collected by the senior author in Santo Domingo. 



Home (39) reported in 1909 Marasmius sacchari as occurring in 

 Cuba. He states that, "Vigorous first-year canes may have the lower 

 leaf-sheaths matted together with fungus and show no sign of injury, 

 while plants attacked at the root may not have the sheaths matted." 

 Symptoms of the disease are rather fully described and recommenda- 

 tions are given for its eradication. 



Root disease was first reported from Hawaii by Lewton-Brain in 

 1905 but was not definitely determined as due to Marasmius sacchari. 

 Cobb (14, 15) reported a variety of Marasmius sacchari which he 

 named var. Hawaiiensis. His description, however, agrees so well 

 in detail with that of the West Indian material seen by the authors 

 that it is believed to be identical with it, and typical of M. sacchari 

 rather than a true variety. The damage done by the fungus is given 

 as considerable. 



This fungus has been described in several publications (90, 91) 

 from the Javan Stations, and also in Kruger's "Das Zuckerrohr und 

 Seine Kultur," and Wakker and Went's "De Ziekten van bet Sui- 

 kerriet op Java." Injury caused by this fungus was said to be 

 serious in the seed beds and in the growing cane. The description 

 of the Java fungus differs from that of the West Indian in a few 

 details but it is generally understood at present that they represent 

 the same species. Marasmius is given as the cause of one of the 

 more important cane diseases of Mauritius by Stockdale (78). 



Description. — As ordinarily seen in the field Marasmius sacchari 

 is represented only by the white mycelium at the base of the stalks. 

 During periods of rainy M'eather, however, the distinctive fruiting 

 bodies also appear. These are small, more or less umbrella-shaped 

 mushrooms, grayish-white in color, and growing near the base of 

 the stalks on the outside of the leaf-slieaths. The top of the fungus 

 varies from about one half inch to one and one-half inches in diameter. 



The following is the technical description : 



Marasmius sacchari Wakker. 



Gregarious or fasciculate at the base, persistent, fleshy-membra- 

 nous; pileus white, widely campanulate, then dingy white, plane or 

 cup-shaped ; 15 mm. diam. ; lamellae white, simple or bifurcate ; stipe 

 central, white, 15 mm. long, tubiform at apex, villous at the base. 



186 



