18 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 398 



destroying fungi at the Eastern Pest Control Operators' Conference, the prepara- 

 tion of a mimeographed circular on "Trees in War," and the writing of newspaper 

 press releases. Publications referred to are found listed at the end'of this bulletin. 



Damping-off and Growth of Seedlings and Cuttings of Woody Plants as 

 Affected by Soil Treatments and Modification of Environment. (W. L. Doran.) 



As a result of increasing interest in the beach plum, a native plant heretofore 

 relatively neglected, work is now being done in cooperation with J. S. Bailey of 

 the Department of Pomology on its vegetative propagation, and an article on 

 the subject was recently published. There was no rooting of hardwood stem 

 cuttings, but softwood cuttings rooted fairh well and best (67 percent in 25 days) 

 when taken here in mid-June and treated with indolebutyric acid (50 mg./ 1., 

 24 hr.). Work with root cuttings taken in the fall is now in progress. 



The vegetative propagation of garden sage, a plant not now available to spice 

 manufacturers from the usual European sources, was investigated in cooperation 

 with A, M. Davis of the Division of Horticulture, and an article published. Un- 

 treated cuttings taken in winter rooted well in s?nd-peat or sandy soil, better 

 than in sand; but their rooting was hastened or improved by treatment for 24 

 hours with rapthaleneacetic acid or indolebut>Tic acid 25 mg./l 



None of the treatments (red cuprous oxide, Barbak D, zinc oxide, Spergon, and 

 Semesan) which were applied to seeds of trees sown in a cold frame in March gave 

 wholly satisfactory protection against infection of seedlings by soil fungi. So far 

 as there were differences in final stands, they were in favor of the use of red cuprous 

 oxide with blue spruce, Barbak D with white pine, and zinc oxide with hemlock, 

 arbor-vitae, Douglas fir, and sycamore. 



In propagation by cuttings, it is important to know which species need no 

 treatnients with root-inducing substances. It is noteworthy, therefore, that 

 August cuttings of Actinidia arguta and February cuttings of Dtcaisnea Fargesii, 

 both of which bear edible fruit, also February cuttings of Viburnum rhytidophyl- 

 lum, rooted 100 percent without treatment. 



Cuttings of Norway spruce are not very responsive to treatment with the com- 

 monly used root-inducing acids. But the rooting of February cuttings of two 

 varieties, pygmaea and nana, was hastened and improved by treatments with 

 solutions of manganese sulfate, 1.0 percent and 5 hours for the former, 0.5 per- 

 cent and 24 hours for the latter. Rooting of late fall or early winter cuttings of 

 Norway spruce, variety nana, as well as cuttings of black spruce, yew, and 

 Hinoki cypress was also im.proved or hastened by treatment with monobasic 

 potassium phosphate 0.5 percent, 20 hours. Rooting of the last named was more 

 improved by this treatment than b> indolebutyric acid. 



A mixture of sand and European sphagnum peat has been favored as a rooting 

 medium, but an American sedge peat, similarly used, may give better results. 

 January cuttings of Lonicera syringantha, treated with indolebutyric acid 50 mg. 

 /I., 24 hr., rooted 92 percent in a mixture (2:1) of sand and Florida sedge peat, 

 decidedly less well in a sim.ilar mixture of sand and European sphagnum peat. 



To determine the possible effect of a powder-dip treatment in combination with 

 and immediately after solution-immersion treatments, cuttings of Chinese juniper 

 (the variety torulosa) taken in February were variously treated. Untreated 

 cuttings rooted only 1 1 percent. There was 83 percent rootmg of cuttings treated 

 with Hormodin No. 3 after treatment for 20 hours with indolebutyric acid 50 m.g. 

 /L or naphthaleneacetic acid 25mg./l., while cuttings given onK the solution 

 treatm.ents rooted not more than 50 percent. 



As compared with our knowledge of soil disinfection prior to seeding, there 

 has been relatively little information available about the dismfection of rooting 

 media for cuttings. When a rooting medium, sand-peat, was disinfected by 



