96 



Blight (SphcercUa fragariw, Tul.) usually causes its greatest injury 

 by attacking the new growth which appears after the fruit is harvested, 

 the old leaves then contain countless spores which will infect the young 

 growing foliage. To prevent this, mow the plants with a scythe, rake up 

 all the leaves, allow them to dry, and then burn carefully. Some recommend 

 renewing the setting annually and phmting in deep, well-drained soil. Spray 

 with ammoniacal copper carbonate every fortnight, beginning the latter iiart 

 of April. Four applications should be sufficient. 



Mint Disease (Pucciiiia mmthiv). 



Specimens of a disease which killed off most of the garden mint in 

 Victoria were submitted to Dr. Fletcher, who reported on it as follows : — 



"The trouble with the mint seems to be a species of rust, allied to grain 

 rust, and known as Puccinia mentha;, the uredo form being present at the 

 time you plucked the specimens submitted. Curiously enough, I found 

 associated with this fungus very small red maggots, very much like those of 

 the common wheat midge, several of these larvje being in the package that 

 you sent me. I find this or a similar kind of maggot feeding on the spores 

 of grain rust, and also I have recently found what appears to be the same 

 thing feeding on the spores of a rust attacking the leaves of the Jlay ajiple. 

 These maggots devour the spores, but I fear can do but little in controlling- 

 the rust. As you know, we are almost helpless in controlling rust, and I 

 regret that I am not able to suggest a remedy in your ease. Its abundance 

 on mint with you may be due to meteorological conditions, though it must be 

 present in more or less abundance every year." 



Diseased Grass (Phiisarum cincrcum) . 



A specimen of di.seased grass from the lawn of Mr. Justice Martin was 

 submitted to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and the following repoi-t 

 was received from A. F. Woods, Pathologist ; — 



" The material was so broken before it reached us that only a small 

 portion of the organism could be observed, which is b.v no means sufficient 

 for a sjiecific determination. Similar material from lawns is very frequently 

 sent us. whii;h. probably without exception, has proved to be Ph iiau rii tii 

 cinereiiiii. which occurs very commonl.v on richly manured ground. Miixoniii- 

 cetes, also called ilycctosoa, are peculiar organisms possessing both animal 

 and vegetable characteristics ; hence they have been claimed by both zoolo- 

 gists and botanists, probably not belonging rightly to either, although their 

 descriptions ai'e generally included in works of systematic cryptogamic 

 botany. The life history of the Mi/.romycctes comprises a motile stage in 

 which the Plasmodium streams or spreads over a surface of perhaps even 

 several square feet, and ascending substances, as the blades of grass, are com- 

 pletely covered with the fruit called sporangia. As far as I kuow, the 

 MiixomijrctcK. with external sporangia, have never beeu reported as of any 

 economical importance. Changes in temperature and humidity, unfavourable 

 to the species on grass, may have already cau.sed its disaii[>enrance, and it is 

 doubtful if experiments with fungicides would be profitable." 



