Ill 



organism {Deudrophagus. glohosiis Tourney) belong-ing- to a pecu- 

 liar group of fung"! known as the " slime molds," but this conclu- 

 sion has not yet been fully verified for the apple, the pear, the 

 raspberry, or indeed for any other of the numerous kinds of fruiting- 

 and ornamental trees and shrubs on which similar wart-like 

 growths have been observed. 



Until experimental work now in progress has been carried so 

 far as to warrant conclusions on this point, the crown-gall of the 

 apple, now extremely common in many nurseries of the Mississippi 

 valley, can be regarded only as a suspicious object, and not certainly 

 as a dangerous one. But the careful nurseryman, jealous of his 

 business reputation, will not send out even suspected material, and 

 in doubtful cases will give his customers the benefit of the doubt- 

 On this account I strongly advise that no stock of any kind 

 showing galls of this sort on crown, roots, or trunk should be 

 placed on the market. All trees growing in close contact with 

 those thus affected should have their roots dipped in the Bordeaux 

 mixture as a precautionary disinfectant, and the ground on which 

 the stock so diseased has grown should be temporarily used for 

 some other purpose than that of raising nursery trees. 



The Root-rot. 



This is a fungous disease of the roots of many kinds of trees, 

 frequent and destructive in orchards, particularly in those growing 

 on old forest land. It is not common in nurseries, but has been 

 found by us in here and there one, and sometimes establishes itself 

 as a permanent pest. Probably all varieties of fruit trees are liable 

 to its attack, many forest trees being also subject to it. A badly 

 infested tree suffers the general effects of the loss of the roots, and 

 hence has a starved and enfeebled look. Often a mass of gum, 

 mixed with scales of the bark, will collect about the base of the 

 trunk. The affected roots, including many of the largest ones, die 

 and rapidly decay, a fungous growth appearing between the bark 

 and the wood in the form of a white irregular layer or coarse net- 

 work, with a mushroom-like smell. Blackish cords or strands of a 

 similar substance often spread over the surface or run through the 

 earth from root to root. 



The fruiting bodies of these rotten-root fungi are umbrella- 

 shaped mushrooms — Annillaria nicllea^ CUtocxbc parasitica, etc., 

 some of which, at least, are, edible species — which spring in a 

 dense cluster from the base of the trunk. They seem to be 

 primarily fungi of rotten wood and often grow profusely around 

 old oak stumps, continuing until the wood is thoroughly rotted 



