From Agricultural Gazette of N. S. Wales. 



April, 1897. 



Letters on the Diseases of Plants. 



(With neai'ly One Hundred Illustrations.*) 



By N. a. COBB. 



The following notes are compiled from some of my official letters written 

 during the last six months, in answer to inquiries directed to the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture from various parts of Australia. Though most of them 

 relate to pests found doing damage to crops, a number are miscellaneous. 



I. Wheat and Maize, and some of their Diseases. 



No inquiries are more numerous than those relating to wheat, outnumbering 

 any others as they do in the ratio of four or five to one. Most of these 

 inquiries are concerning the names and qualities of samples of wheat. No 

 doubt this is due to the fact that the shortage in the last two Australian 

 crops has caused the importation of large quantities of wheat from Canada 

 and California. Having used such wheat for seed, and thus secured novel 

 varieties, growers have sent samples by the score. In a number of cases 

 these samples have been unsatisfactory for reasons that I wish to explain in 

 full, so that correspondents may in future be a little more considerate. 



The naming of a variety of wheat from a sample is, even under the best 

 conditions, a task that few will undertake. The reason for this is, that the 

 number of known varieties is very great, — how great may be best judged 

 from the following list of wheats now growing in the Nomenclature Plots of 

 this Department located at Wagga and Bathurst : — 



List of Varieties of Wheat arranged in Groups : — 



I. Durum and Poulard (Jroiyj. 16 Belotoiu-ka. II. Poland Group, 



1 Egyptian E. ]l F''^"t"p, , 32 Poland. 



3 Forella. l^ oT / ' ' m- Amidonnicr Group. 



A ivrino 20 Salvator. 



5 Seah. 21 Hebron. 33 Blue Heron. 



6 Egyptian CI. | Hun^- ^lute. ^^_ ^^^^^^ ^_.^^^^_ 



" ■ 24 White-eared Mummy. 34 Bailey. 



25 Brown-eared Mummy. 



26 Egyptian B. V. Rieti or Ladoga Group. 



11 Young's Bearded. ^7 . i' ,. f ■ , , 35 Eoberts. 



12 Par-o. II A-txa^n Poulard. 3, Rural New Yorker Eye Wheat 



13 Atlanti. sn T^o,r,.H«„ tt _ _ Hybrid. 



8 „ D. 



9 „ Al. 

 10 „ A 2. 



U Banater. f? E?Sw " ^- - — - - 



15 Cretan. ^^ Laidley. gg Ladoga. 



37 Diche Mediterranea 



* Most of the illustrations were prepared by the author, and all were produced under 

 his immediate direction. Figures 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49, 

 50, 51, 52, 53, and 54 wei-e drawn on the wood by the author. Figures 2, 11, 12, 19, 23, 

 27, 28, 29, 34, and 38 are the author's photographs. Of the remaining figures, Nos. 1, 4, 

 5, 7, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 47, 56, 57, 58, and 59 were prepared by 

 Mr. £. M. Grosse; Nos. 3, 6, and 8 by Mr. W. E. Chambers (who did all the engraving) ; 

 No. 55 by Mr. F. C. Wills ; and No. 48 by Mrs. N. A. Cobb. 



