1891.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 225 



duced into Europe some years ago. In 1885 it was brought 

 to this country with some imported Malofc planted at Bev- 

 erly Farms, Mass., and spread to the hollyhocks there in 

 1886. From this point, or possibly from other points as 

 well, it extended, appearing in Boston, Cambridge, Nahant 

 and elsewhere, and has been recently observed in central 

 New York; It was forwarded this year to the station by 

 G. L. Lovett, Esq., of West Newton. 



The spores have the structure of the resting spores of 

 the rusts, but are not resting spores, since they germinate 

 at once, and infect new plants. Perhaps the last spores of 

 the season are resting spores, by which the fungus survives 

 the winter, as has been shown to be the case with some 

 similar species. Affected plants should be promptly 

 removed and destroyed, if it is desired to protect those 

 still unharmed. 



Disease of Oats. — The Massachusetts Crop Report for 

 June, 1890, contained numerous complaints, especially from 

 the western counties, of the failure of oats from " rusting ;" 

 and the October Report mentions oats among the crops 

 which generally failed throughout the State. Letters to 

 the Crop Report correspondents in Barre, Deerfield and 

 Ludlow brought replies and specimens of the affected oats, 

 for which the gentlemen named have the thanks of this 

 Department. In every case the plants had a general 

 brown or "rusty" color, but their appearance was quite 

 different from that of plants attacked by the grain-rust 

 fungi {Puccinia gra minis Pers., P. corona fa Cda., etc.). 

 No fungus or animal could be detected in any part of the 

 plant, but Bacteria were always present. Other work pre- 

 vented any detailed study of the trouble ; but there is no 

 reason to doubt that it is the same which was very gen- 

 erally reported from the Eastern and Central States, and 

 which materially reduced the oat crops of those sections. 

 This disease has been investigated by the Division of 

 Vegetable Pathology of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, and is regarded as caused by a specific Bac- 

 terium.* Until our knowledge of it is much more com- 



* Journal of Mycology, 1890. p. 72. 



