28 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 378 



on this problem is legitimate even if it cannot be met under present con- 

 ditions. 



At the request of the Massachusetts Tree Wardens' Association a 

 report entitled, "Mortality in street tree planting"^ was prepared; and a 

 pajier entitled, "Tlie tree warden and the town forest" was presented at 

 the Fifth Annual Conference on Current Governmental Problems, Novem- 

 ber 15-16, 1940. 



Investigation of certain injury to trees and other plants revealed evi- 

 dence that sulfur dioxide fumes from an electric refrigerator had caused 

 sudden if temporary damage." ' 



Weather conditions of the early part of the 1940 growing season were 

 particularly favorable for the spread of leaf-infecting fungi, and consider- 

 able injury to foliage also resulted in early summer from the burning of 

 tender growth following foliage development. The period of dry weather 

 previous to the freezing of the ground in the autumn of 1939 caused ex- 

 tensive injury to broadleaved and coniferous evergreens as well as less 

 extensive injury to deciduous trees in certain localities. 



Current miscellaneous activities of the project included the preparation 

 of parts of the program of the Five-Day Short Course for Tree Wardens 

 and the preparation of newspaper press releases. 



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

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

 Doran.) Sandy soil is proving to be a good rooting medium for cuttings 

 of some species and a paper* was recently published on results obtained 

 with it. Softwood, July, cuttings of Styrax japonica, Cornus Koiisa, and 

 Cornelian cherry treated with indolebutyric acid (12.5 or 25 mg. per liter 

 fiir 18 or 20 hours) rooted 10 to 50 percent in sand, 70 to V'jO [>ercent 

 in sandy soil. Untreated ]\\\y cuttings of Piitzer juniper rooted 100 per- 

 cc'it in sandy soil, 83 percent and more slowly in sand; but hardwood, 

 December, cuttings of that variety, after treatment (100 mg./l., 20 hr.), 

 I'lOted better in sand. November cuttings of Gardenia rooted r<. ,L^t..:a!ly 

 C'ciually well in sand sterilized with hot water and in unsterilized ,-;<i'(ly 

 soil or sand-peat. Late fall cuttings of Taxus media and its variety Hicksii, 

 treated with indolebutyric acid, rooted better in sand-peat than m sandy 

 soil or sand, but untreated cuttings of T. media rooted 72 percent in sandy 

 soil, 28 percent in sand. Similar cuttings of Chamaecyparis obtitsa var. 

 filicoidcs, untreated, rooted 57 percent in sandy soil, 28 percent in sand. 

 November cuttings of Picca glauca var. conica, treated or not, rooted better 

 in a mixture of sand, peat, and loam (3:1:1) than in either sandy soil or 

 sand; best rooting, more than 90 percent, being of cuttings, treated with 

 indolebutyric acid 50 mg./l., 18 hr. 



Rooting of cuttings of white pine from mature trees has been considered 

 difficult, but certain trees with unusually good characteristics from the 

 viewpoint of the forester having recenth- been found here, their propaga- 



-.McKcnzir, .Malcolm .\. I'lihlislicd in ■•I'ldictiliiigs of the .\iinnal Mt-cting ot the .Mass. 

 Tree Wardens' Assn.," Februarj- 7 and !<, 1940. 



"McKciizic. Malcdhn A., and ,Iones, Linns II. Injnn- to trees tro:n sulfui- diu-iilc linnes 

 of electric refrisorators. Science 01 :2358:23!t i.'40. March s, 1940. ( C ontril>uf ion 

 No. 358.) 



'SiilfiT dio.xide gas damages foliage. Science News Letter 37:2:ls4. March 23, 1940. 



* Doran, William L. Soil as rooting medium for cuttings. Amer. .Nursery man 72:5:7-8. 

 1940. (Contribution No. 374.) 



