EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT. 429 



above that of the average of the past twelve years. As a rule, one 

 month, as July or January, etc., varies but slightly from the others, 

 and, therefore, a seemingly small increase or decrease in the total 

 average temperature is a great deal, and marks the month in which 

 it occurs as either hot or cold. How this increased heat may have 

 affected the rust is not clear, but it possibly was advantageous to the 

 asparagus plants, giving them greater vigor and consequent resistant 

 power. 



Again, it may be that the considerable decrease of the rust may 

 have been due to the effect of the natural enemies, the darluca in 

 particular, which has been working unknown to the aspargus growers 

 generally, and its presence is a hopeful sign here among fungi, as with 

 injurious insects when some other insect is its parasite. 



Another reason for the decrease may be the introduction of the- 

 French stock and the larger acreage of the "Palmetto," both of. 

 which sorts are far less susceptible to the rust than the varieties that 

 ten years ago were the standard sorts. 



The record for the year is encouraging, for, while it shows that the 

 range of the enemy is no less widespread, there are indications of its 

 destructiveness being abated. If much of the decrease of the past 

 season has been due to the peculiarities of the season, as further 

 observations may establish, it would be important information upon 

 the case in hand. 



Asparagus Rust on the College Farm. 



On October 18th an inspection was made of the four plots of 

 asparagus, row by row, and not plant by plant, as formerly. The 

 whole field showed much green, and was in a far superior condition 

 to that of last year, and better than in 1897, when the first observa- 

 tions and records were made for this field. The first evident thing, 

 was the comparative absence of the rust from the " Palmetto " vari- 

 ety, and the three rows of this sort in each plot were easily selected 

 from the others, because of the deep green color and a large size of 

 the plants. 



One other sort, " Argenteuil," of which there is but a single row, 

 showed equal exemption, but this is of younger plants than the 

 "Palmetto" and much smaller. 



In order to make a more definite record, percentages are assigned 

 to the amount of rust, as in former years. Upon the same basis a& 

 for other years, the "Palmetto" does not show more than 20 per 

 cent, of the rust, and the same is true of the " Argenteuil." There 



