SIXTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 27 



tliyriiiiii I'lich-clii), which has been injurinj;- the raspberries in 

 this state for sonic years past, was unusually widespread and 

 prominent. I'^or several seasons I have been studying this 

 fungus in a general way. but the past one ofifered better oppor- 

 Uiiiitics. so that a new feature in its development was disclosed. 

 I'sually a few of the new canes are killed by the fungus work- 

 ing at their base, when they gradually wilt down as if injured 

 by careless cultivation. Upon the old canes the fungus may 

 form cankered spots girdling the canes and causing wilt of the 

 parts above. Often upon the old or the dead canes the fungus 

 develops more generally, forming its fruiting bodies embedded 

 in the bark and around these the fungus spores are shed out 

 as a copious brown coating. The most serious trouble, how- 

 ever, is with the fruit, as about the time the berries are full 

 grown, but before they begin to ripen, many of the bunches 

 dry up and are worthless. As often there is no sign of the 

 fungus on these fruiting canes I have previously attributed the 

 injury in such cases to an internal attack of the fungus on the 

 parts of the stem near or under the ground. This year on 

 this particular point 1 found that I was getting the horse before 

 the cart; or, in other words, in such cases the injury came 

 from infection at the top of the cane instead of the base. There 

 is no doubt that bees or other insects crawling over the infected 

 stems coated with spores carry away some of these to the blos- 

 soms or the young berries where upon germination they infect 

 these parts. Cases were seen of berries partly green and partly 

 killed bv tliis dry rot. The fungus was present in the dead 

 part but not in the living. Gradually its threads worked 

 throughout tlie berry, killing the tissue as they went. In 

 time these fungus threads penetrated into the pedical and 

 even down into stem bearing the bunch of berries. Thus the 

 whole Inmch may gradually dry up but remain attached to the 

 stem. So far, no very successful methods have been found 

 to control this trouble. The few spraying experiments that 

 have been tried have not proved very beneficial. Thorough 

 cutting out of the dead and diseased stems in the fall and again 

 in the s])ring of course is desirable. 



