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a .£o 
NATURE 
27 
COLONIES. 
Handbook of Fungus Diseases of the Potato in 
Australia and their Treatment. By) 1: 
McAlpine, Department of Agriculture, Victoria. 
Pp. iii+215+1 map. (Melbourne: J. Kemp, 
Government Printer, 1912.) 
HIS handbook records matters of scientific 
interest to economic mycologists in all 
countries, while, at the same time, it is written with 
the aim (which is certainly achieved) of giving valu- 
able information and assistance in practical matters 
to the Australian farmer. In the latter direction 
Dr. McAlpine has performed, indeed, a public 
service. 
The book deals in detail with Phytophthora 
infestans, Alternaria solani, Rhizoctonia, “scab,” 
Fusarium solani, and Bacillus solanacearum, and 
is illustrated with 158 excellent photographs. In 
a very instructive appendix are given the various 
legislative “orders” relating to potato diseases 
which have been put into force under the “ Vege- 
tation Diseases Acts” and “Quarantine Act” of 
Australia. 
The author states that in Australia the annual 
value of the crop is more than one-and-a-half 
million pounds sterling. He rightly insists on the 
economic importance of all steps being taken by 
the State, and by the individual, to safeguard the 
health of the crop, and remarks :—‘‘ Some of the 
worst diseases with which the [potato] grower has 
to contend in Britain and elsewhere are not known 
here, simply because the fungi causing them have 
not been introduced, and with a Quarantine Act 
in existence they are not likely to be.” 
The educational value of the legislation against 
plant-diseases is shown by the following observa- 
tion :— 
“There is a widespread desire on the part of 
growers to know more about the diseases of 
the potato, for the ignorance of the past can no 
_ longer be tolerated, since there is a rigid system 
of inspection to prevent diseased tubers. passing 
from one State to another.” 
With regard to all the diseases mentioned, a 
number of highly interesting experiments and 
observations are recorded. In the case of Phyto- 
phthora infestans it is shown that sporangia can 
infect the unbroken skin of healthy tubers; and 
that the mycelium can remain living in a dried-up 
tuber (“as dead as a mummy,” to quote the 
author’s words) for more than four months. Inter- 
esting facts are given as to the different character- 
istics the disease shows in Australia, as compared 
NO. 2289, VOL. 92] 
with Great Britain and particularly Ireland; while 
the tubers are attacked in Australia, there is, 
generally speaking—owing to the prevailing hotter 
weather—no sudden blackening and decay of the 
tops. This difference not unnaturally led potato- 
growers in Australia, particularly those who had 
had experience of the ‘“‘blight”’ in Ireland, to the 
error of supposing that the two diseases were 
distinct. (The speculation naturally suggests it- 
self whether a distinct form of P. infestans may 
not arise in Australia, specialised to these new 
conditions of temperature and humidity.) It is 
found that the “kangaroo apple” (Solanum 
aviculare) serves as a host-plant; while it is stated 
that S. nigrum, a common weed in Australia, 
appears to be immune. Another very interesting 
fact which has been ascertained is the undoubted 
connection of the severity of the disease with the 
rainfall in different districts. 
A full discussion is given of the life-history of 
P. infestans. Here, as with so many common 
fungous diseases, there are important gaps in 
our knowledge waiting to be filled; it is necessary 
to take every opportunity to point out that in 
no department of botany is research needed more 
than in economic mycology. The author remarks: 
“probably the mycelium remains dormant in the 
{potato} stalks ”; such statements are to be depre- 
cated—it is better to admit the absence of definite 
knowledge. 
A series of experiments showed that the 
Fusarium of the potato and tomato are transfer- 
able; excellent photomicrographs are given of 
the life-history and stages of development of this 
fungus. EB. S2Ss 
PHYSICAL TRAINING. 
Ma Lecon-Type d’entrainement complet et utili- 
taire. By Lieut. G. Hébert. Pp. 208. (Paris: 
Librairie Vuibert, 1913.) Price 1.75 francs. 
\,N reading this book most people interested 
() in physical training will agree that although 
the training it describes may be utilitaire, it is 
certainly not complet. The training aims at the 
acquirement of strength and endurance, as do 
all forms of physical training and many forms 
of sport. But M. Hébert’s system lacks the com- 
pleteness and variety of the Swedish system, which 
is the system now used in our Army and Navy 
and in an increasing number of schools in this 
country. There is nothing M. Hébert claims for 
his method which is not equally true of the 
Swedish method. 
M. Hébert divides exercises into seven classes : 
(1) marching; (2) running; (3) jumping; (4) 
climbing; (5) lifting; (6) throwing; (7) exercises 
Cc 
