ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. i43 



Dr. Townsend: If the soil is constantly water-soaked and 

 the partly-decayed peaches are in the soil, the fungus would be 

 destroyed, but these dried peaches are not easily soaked through 

 and, remaining on the tree or on the surface of the ground, as 

 some of them do. they soon dry off and the fungus is protected. 

 A great deal of the fungus as well as a large part of the fungus 

 spores are destroyed, but enough survive to perpetuate the 

 fungus from year to year. 



Mr. Wakeman : Does the weather have a good deal to do 

 with it, as to the amount of it that we have during a season? 



Dr. Townsend : Yes, the weather has a great deal to do with 

 it indirectly. It is said that warm, damp weather aids the rot, 

 and that is true, since the germination of the spores and the 

 subsequent development of the fungus depends upon weather 

 conditions. If the fungus or its spores were not present the 

 weather alone would not produce the brown rot. Hence the 

 weather is only indirectly responsible for this trouble. 



Mr. Beckwith : I noticed among the pictures that were 

 shown was one in regard to the growth of the plant knots on 

 the roots. I would like to understand a little more about that. 



Dr. Townsend: I will say that the knots commonly called 

 crown gall, are liable to appear on our common fruit trees, such 

 as apples, peaches, pears, plums, etc. These knots vary in size 

 and usually occur at the crown of the roots. As shown by 

 Prof. Toumey in his work on this disease, these knots are pro- 

 duced by a slime mould. Sometimes knots are produced on the 

 roots of certain plants by a small worm ; in other cases they are 

 produced by an aphis, hence we should learn to distinguish 

 between the knots or galls of dift'erent kinds. The crown gall 

 is often found on nursery stock, care should, therefore, be 

 taken in selecting trees for planting to avoid this disease. No 

 remedy is known by which a tree affected with this disease may 

 be cured. It is true that a tree affected with the crown gall 

 may live for several years and even come into bearing, but the 

 general experience is that such trees are unprofitable. 



A Member: I would like to ask the Professor if he will 

 kindly go over what he said this morning in regard to the treat- 

 ment of monilia ; if he will briefly go over that again. 



Dr. Townsend : I shall be very glad to go over the different 

 steps in the treatment of monilia. In the first place, see that 



