398 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 



[Vol. -l 



South America. — There is a serious disease of sugar-cane 

 in Brazil and another in Argentina, both of which I believe are 

 of bacterial origin, and identical with Cobb's disease. Bondar 

 has reported a destructive manihot disease. The bud-rot of 

 the coconut occurs in the north. 



United States and Canada. — Potato rots probably cause the 

 greatest losses one year with another. Following these I 

 should think pear and apple blight. Perhaps the latter should 

 be placed first, for the destruction of an acre of potatoes would 

 scarcely equal the value of a single fine pear tree, and thou- 

 sands are destroyed every year. In California, which was 

 free from pear blight until recently, the losses in the last fif- 

 teen years have been enormous, amounting to about one-third 

 of all the full-grown orchards and to a money-loss estimated 

 at $10,000,000 for the five years preceding the efforts for its 

 restriction begun in 1905 by the U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture. Very serious losses from this disease are experi- 

 enced every year in the East, or were until growers became 

 generally familiar with methods of control. 



In our southern states the tobacco and the tomato wilt have 

 made it impossible to grow these crops on many fields. In 

 the northern United States the cucurbit wilt is wide-spread 

 and destructive, but cucurbits are of course a minor crop. 



The walnut blight has done much damage in California. 

 This occurs also in New Zealand and Tasmania. 



The bacterial disease of alfalfa has been serious in parts 

 of the West. It is most injurious early in the season, i. e., on 

 the first cutting. 



Holland. — Here the yellow disease of hyacinths is always 

 destructive and will eventually put an end to hyacinth-growing 

 for export if means cannot be had for its control, since the land 

 suited for hyacinths is limited in amount. Brown rot of cab- 

 bage occurs in Holland and Denmark, and is common now also 

 in many parts of the United States. It was probably imported 

 into the United States from Denmark on cabbage seed. Some 

 years in nurseries about Amsterdam the lilac blight has been 



troublesome. 



