108 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



RUST ON VINCA. 



G. E. STONE. 



An outbreak of rnst on Vinca was recently brought to our 

 attention by Mr. O. C. Bartlett, a graduate student at this insti- 

 tution. Mr. Bartlett, who is engaged in the summer in inspec- 

 tion work, became acquainted with this trouble through J. W. 

 Adams & Co., of Springfield, Mass., a firm which maintains 

 a nursery and general greenhouse establishment. The rust 

 appears to be new in this country, and is apparently the same 

 species as that occurring in Europe on Vinca, ^ although the 

 specimens obtained by us do not correspond in every way to the 

 European descriptions of this fungus. We have in our herba- 

 rium no European species with which to compare our specimens, 

 but they were sent to Prof. W. G. Farlow, of Harvard Univer- 

 sity, and to Dr. J. C. Arthur of Purdue University, Indiana, 

 who is a rust specialist. Professor Farlow writes that from a 

 casual examination of material which we sent him, and which 

 he compares with material in his own herbarium, the species 

 differs considerably from his own type, Puccinia Vinar^ (DC) 

 Cast. Dr. Arthur states that there are two distinct forms in 

 Europe, both of which are referred to as Puccinia Berkehi, 

 Pass., and Puccinia Vinca' (DC), Berk., the former being a 

 synonym of the latter, and that the specimens sent correspond 

 with one of the European types. 



The rust has apparently been present in the vicinity of 

 Springfield and Chicopee for at least two or three years, corre- 

 sponding to the period wlien there was more or less of an un- 

 usual epidemic of rust in this State and elsewhere. Vinca is 

 grown out of doors during the summer from greenhouse cut- 

 tings, but we could find no evidence of the disease affecting 



' Tubeuf & Smith," Diaeasea of Plants," p. 356. 



