100 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 160. 



peculiar abortion and malformation of the blossoms. The latter do not 

 develop normally in size or color, but are small and greenish. The pe- 

 duncles do not curve over naturally, but remain straight and become 

 more or less swollen, so that the flowers open facing upward. The blos- 

 soms thus affected produce no berries, and the crop is often greatly re- 

 duced in quantity when the vines are badly infested. 



The vines sent in affected with this trouble came from a bog on which 

 "Metallic Bell" vines from Wisconsin were planted about ten years ago. 

 The discovery of this disease in Carver led Dr. Shear and the writer to 

 investigate its distribution. It was found on five bogs, all in North 

 Carver, the source and center of trouble being evidently, in every case, 

 vines which had come from Wisconsin. On four of these bogs the trouble 

 centered around the "Metalhc Bell" variety. The name of the variety 

 causing the trouble in the fifth case is not known. On one bog the disease 

 had apparently spread from the "Metallic Bell" vines and attacked those 

 of the "Late Howe" variety, especially on some new planting, and was 

 also found to some extent on "Nova Scotia Bell" vines. On another it 

 seemed to have spread from the "Metallic Bell" variety to " Centreville " 

 vines to a slight extent. It was least prevalent on the bogs which had 

 usually been run dry during the growing season, those which had been 

 kept wet being very badly infested. It was first observed on one of these 

 bogs five years ago and has apparently been growing gradually and 

 steadily worse. The discovery of the presence of this Wisconsin disease 

 on the Cape may be a matter of much importance. It is evidently a 

 serious disease, and the results of the season's observations strongly sug- 

 gest that it may be infectious, though it has by no means been proved 

 to be so. Until more is known about it, Wisconsin varieties cannot be 

 planted on the Cape without considerable risk. The discovery of this 

 disease in Massachusetts and -the results of our investigation concerning 

 it are especially interesting in the light of the observations regarding it 

 recentl}'^ pubhshed in the annual report of the director of the Wisconsin 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. ^ 



Observations in connection with the new disease, spoken of as the 

 "blossom-end rot" in previous reports, have been continued. This 

 disease was again this year the chief cause of decay among "Late Howe" 

 berries in storage. Numerous samples of fruit infected with it were sent 

 to Dr. Shear for laboratory investigation. Its exact place in botanical 

 classification is not yet determined. 



Resanding. 



The experiments in resanding have been continued, five plots on the 



station bog having been devoted to this investigation since October, 1912. 



Two of these plots have not been resanded for six years. The other three 



have been resanded every year for the last four years. The bog as a whole 



1 Bulletin No. 240 of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, June, 1914, p. 54. 



