24 



MYCOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. 



This department was instituted at the end of 1918 under the 

 charg-e of Dr. W. B. Brierley. Althoug^h the continuity of work 

 during- the following two years has been sadly interrupted by 

 laboratory alterations, much has been accomplished. The main 

 investigations are summarised below. 



1 — The Soil Flora. The micM-o-Hora of the soil is being 

 studied l^y Dr. Brierley, Dr. Muriel Bristol and Miss Jewson. The 

 algae and fungi are isolated in pure culture and cultivated in vitro 

 on various food media under controlled and standardised condi- 

 tions. Their identity is determined and a study made of their 

 j)hysi()log-ical properties and their function in the soil e(^onomv. A 

 Rothamsted monograph on " Soil Fungi and Algae " is in pre-, 

 paration. 



2 — llie Fungal Species. Dr. Brierley is carrying- out investi- 

 gations on the species concept in the fung^i, this work being- of 

 fundamental importance in order that fungi — in particular those 

 causing plant disease — may be accurately codified. Dr. Hender- 

 son Smith is employing standardised serological methods in the 

 elucidation of this problem, this technique supplying a series of 

 tests of a delicacy not yet obtained by chemical means. During 

 Dr. Brierley 's investigations a new form of Botrytis cinerea 

 appeared, and as this has important bearings on certain basic 

 concepts in biology it has been fully studied (p. 51). 



3 — The Killing- of Fungal Spores. The greater part of reme- 

 dial treatment in plant disease depends on the killing of fungus re- 

 productive bodies by toxic agents. Such treatment is empirical 

 for there is little knowledge of the exact relations between spores 

 and poison. Dr. Henderson Smith is studying this problem in 

 detail and has thrown much light upon the fundamental nature of 

 the disinfection process (p. 52). 



4 — JVarf Disease of Potatoes. This investigation is being- 

 carried out by Dr. Brierley and Miss Glynne by the aid of a special 

 grant from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, l^aboratory 

 work is done at Rothamsted and methods are being devised to 

 extract Wart Disease sporangia from infested soil, to evaluate the 

 toxic effect of chemical substances upon the sporangia and to test 

 the viability of the sporangia in vitro after treatment. Glasshouse 

 and field trials are carried out at Ormskirk, where experiments on 

 soil sterilisation, alternative liosts, nianurial, cultural and other 

 treatment are in progress. 



5 — Bacterial lilackneck oj l\>niato. Professor K. Nakata, cf 

 the Kyushu University of jaj)an, is investigating this disease, par- 

 ticularly from the j^oint of view of its production by means of 

 bac^terial extrac t. 



During 1920, Dr. Brierley represented Great Britain at the 

 American Phytopathological Congress, and sul^sequently spent 

 some months visiting educational and research institutions and the 

 xarious regionsofagrirulliir.il ;ind bi<)logi(^al imj)()rt;in(M' in Cnnadn 

 and the United Stalis. 



