24 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 388 



indolebutyric acid gave much better results with cuttings cf Hinoki cypress than 

 did naphthaleneacetic acid. 



Untreated cuttings of Clematis lanuginosa var. Candida and the Clematis variety 

 Ramona rooted at least 80 percent if taken in mid-July, less well if taken a month 

 earlier or later, and their rooting was not markedly improved by treatment with 

 indolebutyric acid. 



Cuttings of Daphne Cneoriim, taken in July, rooted 75 percent without treat- 

 ment, more than 90 percent after treatment with Hormodin No. 1, and less well 

 than the checks if treated for several hours with solutions of root-inducing sub- 

 stances cr with water only. 



Up to 24 hours' treatment with water, only, did not affect rooting cf hardwood 

 cuttings of Juniperus com munis var. stricta, Ilex crenata var. Helleri, hemlock, 

 or mock-orange. 



Best results with these cuttings of mcck-orange (100 percent rooting in five 

 weeks) followed treatment with Hormodin No. 3. Cuttings which were given a 

 short (six hours') treatment with naphthaleneacetic acid rooted more slowly 

 although also to the extent of 100 percent, a decided improvement over results 

 with untreated cuttings for they rooted only 58 percent. 



Cuttings of the Rhododendron variety Cunningham's White developed better 

 roots if treatment with a sugar solution (3.0 percent) followed treatment with 

 indolebutyric acid. But treatments with sugar solutions, whether applied before, 

 after, or with root-inducing substances, failed to increase the percentages of root- 

 ing of fall cuttings of that plant or of Gordonia and Daphne Cneorum. 



Study of Diseases of Ornamental Herbaceous Plants, Caused by Soil-Infesting 

 Organisms, with Particular Attention to Control Measures. (W. L. Doran.) 

 Formaldehyde properly diluted may, it was found, be applied safely and effec- 

 tively to soil immediately after seeding without determining the e.xact rate of 

 application of the solution to each square foot of soil surface. That, however, 

 is most commonly 1 to 13^ pints per square foot. Formaldehyde, so applied to 

 soil immediately after seeding that each square foot received 2 cc. of it, controlled 

 damping-ofT of Delphinium, Viola, and sweet pea well and equally well whether 

 each square foot received 0.75, 1.25 or 2.0 quarts of the solution. 



Formaldehyde, 4.9 cc. (1 teaspconful) in 1 gallon water or, what is the same 

 thing, 1 tablespoonful in 3 gallons, gave perfect and safe control of damping-oflf 

 cf Nemesia, columbine. Zinnia, China aster, hollyhock, Phlox, Nicotiana, Ver- 

 bena, Lobelia, and two species of Dianthus when it was applied to soil immediately 

 after seeding without determining exactly what volume of the solution was 

 applied per square foot. This method^ is noteworthy for its simplicity, .since 

 there is no working of chemicals, such as dusts, into soil, no waiting, and, because 

 soil must usually be watered immediately after seeding, not a single additional 

 operation is involved. 



When formaldehyde 0.5 teaspoonful in 1 gallon of water was thus applied im- 

 mediately after seeding, it gave fair but less complete control. If this very 

 dilute solution of formaldehyde was applied more than once, that is immediately 

 after seeding and again once or twice or three times more at intervals of two 

 days, there was injury to Scabiosa by three applications, not by two, and to 

 China aster by four applications, not b\' three. But results with these repeated 

 applications were not promising, for damping-off was just as well controlled by 

 one application immediately after seeding. 



Formaldehyde applied to soil not previously disinfected improved the growth 

 of Calendula, Zinnia, and China aster. But when formaldehyde (2 cc. per square 



'Doran, William L. A simple control of damping-off. Florists Exchange 96:21:10. 1941. (Con- 

 tribution No. 408.) 



