36 a EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



was accordingly heavier than usual, this cannot be interpreted 

 as indicating an abnormal season. It is explained, rather, by 

 the war-time impetus given to gardening and general crop pro- 

 duction by the publicity campaign waged in- the State and 

 throughout the country. Many reports were followed up only 

 to find slight and isolated outbreaks of diseases. However, an 

 awakened interest is indicated, and through it much may be 

 accomplished in the way of suppression of diseases by education 

 of the public in the use of known methods of control. 



While this is recognized as extension work, it has always been 

 conducted by the station staff because there has been no one 

 specially assigned to act as extension plant pathologist. How- 

 ever, on November 1 Mr. W. L. Doran was appointed by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture as extension specialist 

 in diseases of truck crops, to work in co-operation with the de- 

 partment of botany. This arrangement will relieve station 

 members of the department of much correspondence, and they 

 should hereafter be able to give correspondingly more time to 

 research. It will also enlarge the usefulness of extension work 

 in plant pathology, and help to bring the department into closer 

 touch with the problems of a larger number of growers. 



The possibilities of research in plant pathology have been 

 greatly enlarged by the addition of a field pathologist to the 

 department staff. Formerly the amount of field work in path- 

 ological research which could be undertaken has been small, 

 owing to the great amount of other work required of the de- 

 partment. This year spraying experiments on beans and celery 

 were conducted in Amherst and Arlington, the latter in co-op- 

 eration with the market-garden field station. In addition, in- 

 vestigations on diseases of lettuce and cucumbers were started 

 in the greenhouses of several truck crop growers in Arlington 

 and in the department greenhouse at Amherst. This feature of 

 our work will be enlarged the coming year. 



Extensive research on a new canker disease of roses, caused 

 by the fungus Cylindrocladium scoparium Morg., has been under 

 way for about a year, and results will be ready for early publica- 

 tion. This work was undertaken at the request of one of the 

 largest growers of greenhouse roses in New England, who placed 

 his equipment at our disposal for the carrying out of the more 



