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initial stages of the common Wet Rot. When planted the diseased 

 seed did not sprout well and the plants were of small promise. 



Potatoes derived from a crop that suffered from Wet Rot should 

 not be used as seed. The principal point here made is that by cutting, 

 as shown in the illustrations,, it is possible to detect the initial stages 

 of the disease, and so provide in a measure against its attacks. 

 Although the sketches give a fairly good idea of the appearances that 

 should be regarded with suspicion, it would be best to educate the eye 

 to the appearances by cutting and examining some unquestionably 

 sound seed of the kind being planted. The appearances are quite 

 striking once the eye has become accustomed to them. 



BEAN RUST. 



[See Coloured Plate, Frontispiece.] 



WHILE this is not a common disease in this State, it is one that can at 

 times do considerable damage, as witness the coloured figure in the 

 frontispiece, which was drawn from a typical specimen taken from a 

 crop of considerable size. Such cases are not common. 



No words of mine could give a better idea of the general appearance 

 of the disease than that conveyed by the excellent coloured drawing 

 from which the lithograph has been faithfully produced. It will be 

 seen that the leaves and pods were thoroughly infested. Though the 

 crop was not destroyed it was much diminished. 



The disease is of such a nature that it is very difficult to combat. 

 The rust fungi are so prolific that in the case of thorough infestation 

 the spores are practically omnipresent, and any spray applied as a 

 means of relief must, to be effective, cover practically the entire surface 

 of the plants to be protected. It is impossible to so cover the surface 

 of a crop of beans, and moreover such an application of any efficient 

 fungicide would be of doubtful utility because of its injurious effects 

 on the crop. 



We are driven to one of two other measures, either to destroy the 

 entire crop by mowing and burning, or to ploughing in the crop. 

 Probably the former is to be preferred. It may be that the crop will 

 bear well enough to pay for harvesting, and in that case it may be 

 wise to consider whether it may pay to let the pods ripen and then, 

 after the harvest, burn off. This course is the less to be feared as the 

 disease is not a common one, and appears only under exceptional circum- 

 stances, and hence may give little further trouble, no matter what 

 course is adopted. 



CABBAGES ATTACKED BY PERONOSPORA. 



PLANTS suffering from this disease are easily distinguished from their 

 healthy neighbours. The leaves are covered, more especially on the 

 under side, with a frost-like growth consisting of erect threads bearing 

 a snow-white crop of spores. All these appearances occur while the 

 infested leaves are still green and before they droop and wither away. 

 The individual spores are large enough to be seen with the aid of a 

 powerful magnifying glass. The drawing placed on this page shows 

 the microscopic appearance of the growth. 



