K20 Report op the Mycologist of the 



I. TWO DESTRUCTIVE LILY DISEASES. 



Soon after my arrival upon Long Island in December, 1894, 

 Mr. C. H. Allen, President of the New York Florists' Club, directed 

 my attention to a lily disease which was causing serious trou])le to 

 lily growers in the vicinity of New York City. The Easter lily, a 

 variety of Lilium longijloruTn, Thunb., known to florists as LiUum 

 Harrisii, suffered most, but Z. longijloruin also was slightly 

 affected. Visits to various growers showed that the trouble was a 

 general one. Florists say that it has been known for several years, 

 and that it has been gradually growing worse until at the present 

 time it threatens the complete destruction of the Easter lily industry 

 unless a remedy can be found. In the green-houses of Mr. James 

 Dean, a large grower at Bay Ridge, N. Y., about forty per cent, of 

 the plants were ruined and probably not more than five per cent, 

 were wholly free from it. That it is also prevalent in Bermuda is 

 shown by the reports coming from there, and by cut flowers sent to 

 the New York market. However, it is likely that in Bermuda the 

 disease is confused with another common one known as the "Ber- 

 muda lily disease," or " Ward's lily disease," which is discussed in 

 another part of this article. 



The disease under consideration is characterized as follows : Very 

 soon after the leaves start, they show blotches and streaks of light 

 yellow. As the plant develops, the yellow blotches are gradually 

 replaced by numerous small, irregular, dead spots, giving the leaf 

 the appearance of having been gnawed by small insects. The 

 flowers are spotted in the same manner. The whole plant presents 

 a sickly, yellowish, rusty appearance, making it unsalable. In many 

 cases the plants never flower ; in others the flowers are distorted. 

 The disease progresses very slowly. The bulb appears to be 

 normal, but the tips of the feeding roots are found to be dead. If 

 a healthy plant is knocked out of its pot, the ball of dirt appears 

 white all over the outside with growing rootlets. A diseased plant 

 similarily treated shows very few white rootlets. 



The cause is obscure. A microscopic study of the leaf spots 

 shows that they are not insect injuries. The cuticle of the leaf is 

 unbroken, and, moreover, no insect is constantly associated with the 

 disease. However, it is likely that Aphids are in some cases the 

 cause* of the distorted flowers. At the beginning I strongly sus- 

 pected that the trouble was due to bacteria. All of the symptoms 



