Pethybiudge & Laffekty — Disease of Tomato and other Plants. 501 



when the resulting seedling was about 4 inches high and quite healthy, it was 

 inoculated near soil-level with a pure culture of the fungus. Within six clays 

 the seedling was dying, and microscopic examination showed the presence on 

 it of the fungus, bearing its sporangia. Nozemia fagi is a well-known 

 parasite of the beech, and it also attacks herbaceous plants such as Clarkia, &c. 

 It would not be surprising therefore if P. cryptogea also turned out to be a 

 parasite naturally occurring in beech-woods, and that it was carried through 

 leaf-mould, employed in compost-making, to nurseries, there to become a 

 serious pest to cultivated plants. This point, although at present a mere 

 hypothesis, is well deserving of further study. 



As regards the control of the " foot-rot " disease, it may in the first place 

 be stated that this is one of those rather exceptional cases amongst plant 

 diseases in which (as far as the Tomato is concerned at any rate) an actual 

 cure of the individual may be effected by amputation of the attacked portion 

 of the plant and treating the healthy portion as a cutting. The diseased 

 portions removed should of course be destroyed by burning. Attention has 

 already been drawn to this point ; and, provided that the affected plants are 

 old enough and are not in too advanced a stage of attack, this mode of treat- 

 ment may be carried out without an undue amount of trouble and with the 

 prospect of a reasonable degree of success. It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary 

 to point out that the cuttings must not be planted in contaminated soil, 

 otherwise there is serious risk of a recurrence of the trouble. 



The precautionary measures which should be adopted to prevent the 

 disease are sufficiently obvious. All diseased plants (if not treated as 

 described above) should be destroyed by burning. All soil in which diseased 

 plants have been growing should be discarded from the nursery. It could 

 probably with safety be used as a top-dressing on permanent grass land. 

 All pots, pans, boxes, &c, in which diseased seedlings have been raised should 

 be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected or sterilised before being used again. 

 A thorough cleansing and disinfection of glass-houses or frames in which 

 diseased plants have been grown should also be carried out. 



Seedlings should only be raised in non-contaminated soil. Experience 

 has shown that it is not sufficient to rely on virgin loam and fresh leaf-mould 

 for making the compost, because the fungus may already be present in one or 

 both of these. The safest plan would be to sterilise thoroughly the compost 

 before using it. Partial sterilisation, such as results from some of the 

 modern methods of steaming employed in connexion with other diseases of 

 the tomato, cucumber, &c, would probably not be sufficient. 



