488 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 928 



mined that most of the serious injury attrib- 

 uted to disease in the heavy soils is, after all, 

 due to lack of drainage. An examination of 

 the root system of plants not diseased shows 

 that the root system penetrates only a short 

 distance, and the root terminals, instead of 

 being tapered, have a rounded or blunt appear- 

 ance. 



CAUSE OF THE DISEASE 



A microscopic examination of the galls shows 

 the disease to be due to Urophlyctis alfalfw 

 (v. Lagerh.) P. Magnus. The galls are merely 

 hypertrophied tissue of the host plant, and 

 contain minute cavities which are filled with 

 masses of the brown resting spores which 

 measure approximately 40 micromillimeters 

 in diameter. The fungus belongs to the Class 

 Chlorophyceffi, Order Protococcales, Family 

 Chytridiaceae, Subfamily Olpidise. The sexual 

 resting spores are formed by the union of two 

 sporangia and the passing of the contents of 

 one into the other. The mycelium which pro- 

 duces several fruiting bodies en masse is more 

 or less developed. The fruiting bodies are al- 

 most spherical and brownish in color. 



This disease was first recorded in 1892 by 

 Lagerheim, who found it in Ecuador. He, 

 however, placed the parasitic fungus in the 

 genus Gladochytrium. Magnus, in 1902, 

 found it in Alsace, Germany, and referred the 

 fungus to the genus Urophlyctis. Until 1909, 

 the disease had not been reported in the 

 United States, although it had been found in 

 South America, Germany, England and other 

 foreign countries. In 1909, it was reported 

 from both California and Arizona. A year 

 later the writer found it in southern Oregon, 

 but nothing was published until 1911, when a 

 preliminary statement was made which ap- 

 peared in the local press. 



During the past season the writer has been 

 doing considerable work on the histological 

 effect of the fungus, as well as the determina- 

 tion of the manner of natural infection, etc. 

 A detailed paper will be published later. 



The literature on this disease is not very 

 extensive; the references which the writer has 

 at hand are as follows : 



von Lagerheim, G., " Mykologische Studien. I., 

 Beitrage zur Kenntniss der parasitischen Pilze," 

 1-3. Bihang till K. SvensTca Tet.-Ahad. Eand- 

 lingar., Bd. 24, 1898, Afd. III., No. 4. Abstract 

 in CentU. Bakt. (etc.), II., 5, 558-560. 

 Magnus, P., "Ueber die in den knolligen Wurzel- 

 auswuohsen der Luzerne lebende Urophlyctis." 

 Ber. dent. hot. Gesell., 20, 291-296. 1902. 

 Salmon, E. S., "Urophlyctis alfalfw, a Fungous 

 Disease of Lucerne in England. ' ' Gard. Chron., 

 in., 39, 122. February 24, 1906. 

 Smith, Elizabeth H., "A Note on Urophlyctis 

 alfalfoB (v. Lagerh.) P.Magnus, in California." 

 Science, N. S., Vol. XXX., No. 768. August 13 

 1909. 

 Smith, Elizabeth H., "A Note on Urophlyctis 

 alfalfw in California." Experiment Station 

 Eeoord, Vol. 21, No. 6, November, 1909. 

 McCallum, W. B. (Plant Physiology and Pathol- 

 ogy). Arizona Station Report, June 30, 1909. 

 McCallum, W. B. (Work in Plant Pathology). 

 Experiment Station Eeeord, Vol. 23, No. 7. 

 December, 1910. 

 O 'Gara, P. J., ' ' Urophlyctis alfalfa, a Crown Gall 

 Disease of Alfalfa New to Oregon." Medford 

 Mail-Tribune, August 29, 1911. 



P. J. O'Gaea 



Office op the Pathologist, 

 Me&ford, Oregon 



a comparison of the " MAMMOTH " AND SPANISH 

 PEANUTS AS GROWN IN CENTRAL IOWA 



In the spring of 1911, the writer procured 

 seeds of two varieties of peanuts, a strain of 

 the Virginia peanut known as the "Mam- 

 moth" and advertised as combining earliness 

 and large size and as being very prolific, and 

 the small Spanish peanut. The " Mammoth " 

 peanut seed was obtained from the Mills Seed 

 Co., Washington, Iowa, and the Spanish pea- 

 nut from Burpee, of Philadelphia. Both kinds 

 were planted the same day. May 8, and in 

 neighboring rows in a rich soil, which was 

 not, however, a good peanut soil, as it was 

 rather heavy and liable to cement and run to- 

 gether. Both kinds received the same treat- 

 ment and were gathered the same date, Oc- 

 tober 23, the date of the first killing frost, 

 unusually late for this section. 



The Mammoth peanut hills were only a 

 few in number. They made much higher, 

 larger stalks and were inclined to spread over 



