86 Forestry Quarterly. 



The Chestnut Blight Fungus and a Related Saprophyte. By 

 P. J. and H. W. Anderson. Bulletin 4, Pennsylvania Chestnut 

 Tree Blight Commission. 1913. Pp. 26. 



During the scouting operating in Pennsylvania to discover the 

 extent of the Chestnut Blight, a fungus at first diagnosed as 

 the true blight fungus (Endothiu parasitica) was found in the 

 south western counties quite beyond the affected areas. Strangely 

 enough it was doing no serious damage, and the question arose 

 as to the cause of this phenomenon. Careful cultural studies 

 conducted by the authors have shown that this fungus named by 

 them B. virginiana behaves differently from the true blight fungus 

 on certain artificial media. These differences and certain minute 

 morphological differences are so constant that no doubt remained 

 that two distinct species were in question. This has been one 

 of the rather infrequent instances in which the settlement of a 

 fine taxonomic point has had a direct and immediate bearing 

 on economic operations. Since this article went to press the 

 home of B. parasitica has been located in China. It is worthy 

 of note that our authors were not drawn into erroneous theoret- 

 ical deductions as to the origin of B. parasitica based on its 

 very striking resemblance to B. virqiniana. 



J. H. F. 



The Blights of Coniferous Nursery Stock. By Carl Hartley. 

 Bulletin 44, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Washington. D. 

 C. 1913. Pp. 21. 



This paper gives a satisfactory account of several blights oc- 

 curring in coniferous nursery stock. Damping-off diseases are 

 ■not included. They are restricted mainly to seedlings under two 

 months old, and have already been more or less thoroughly in- 

 vestigated. The most important of the blights studied is sun 

 scorch. The loss from this cause is often very great, especially 

 on sandy soils, in soils lacking in humus, in crowded beds, and 

 in raised parts of beds. Watering, shading, and avoidance of 

 crowding are successful preventive measures. Other causes' of 

 blight are winter-killing, mulch injury, and various fungus di- 

 seases, for all of which more or less effective preventives have 

 .been tested and are recommended. J. H. F. 



