30 July, 1909.] " Bitter PW of tlie Apple. 439 



Previous consignments of similar stocks, packed in the same way, had 

 ibeen sent from the same nursery to Africa in 1908 — 6,000 on 28th June, 

 5,000 on 24th July, and 3,000 as late as 14th September. One consignment 

 was also sent to England last season, and 54,000 in several consignments 

 to New Zealand, and not a single complaint had been made, with the 

 -exception of that from Pretoria. 



There is a complete system of inspection of nurseries in force in 

 Victoria, and this is carried out by a body of trained inspectors, who have 

 all shown their practical acquaintance with diseased conditions of fruit 

 trees, before appointment. 



I have not only personally inspected the nursery from which the apple- 

 iree stocks were sent ; but for the past nineteen years it has been my official 

 dutv to investigate the Fungi of Australia and make a complete list of 

 them, as far as known, and although I am familiar with the fungus known 

 as Nectria diths'ima, Tul. in its various stages in Britain, it has never been 

 found here on Northern Spy stock. 



The simple proof of the existence of this fungus in Victoria would be 

 the production of a specimen, but that has not been forthcoming. Inter- 

 national courtesy, if not international law, requires that decisive proof be 

 given of the reasons for any wholesale condemnation of diseased plants or 

 parts of plants, and if, for instance, citrus fruits from a neighbouring 

 State are condemned, on account of being seriously affected with Black 

 Spot {Phoiua citricarpa), a specimen of the fungus causing the disease is 

 always available for examination. 



As a warning against the danger of drawing conclusions from super- 

 ;ficial appearances in the difficult domain of plant pathology, I cannot do 

 better than quote the concluding paragraph of Pole Evans' report on the 

 Pretoria consignment: — "The importation of this fungus(?) from 

 Australia onl\- serves to show how important it is that all plants from 

 ■oversea and elsewhere should be examined by a competent officer, before 

 thev are allowed to enter this Colony, and when it is realized that these 

 5,000 infected( ?) apple trees might have been planted in the Transvaal, 

 if they had escaped inspection, it can hardlv be wondered at that this 

 country is already so heavily burdened with foreign pests." 



REPORT ON "BITTER PIT" OF THE APPLE. 



D. McAlpiiie, Vegetable Pat/iologist. 



I have the honour to report, as requested, on the subject of what is 

 •commonly known in Australia as " Bitter Pit " of the apple. It is un- 

 fortunately only too well known to apple growers, both here and in other 

 parts of the world, but it is necessary to understand clearly what is the 

 nature of the disease to which this name is applied, in order to pre^•ent 

 confusion. 



The common name was first given to this disease by Dr. Cobb, for- 

 jnerly Vegetable Pathologist to the New South Wales Department of 

 Agriculture in 1895, although it had previously been mentioned in the 

 Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales for 1892 under the heading of 

 " Another obscure disease of the apple." The name of " Bitter Pit " was 

 suggested, because as he remarks "The brown spots, when several are 

 taken out and placed at once in the^mouth, have an undoubted bitter 

 taste," although he also found dead tissue between the skin and the core 



