S96 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 200. 



wound, so that the diseased limbs become quite 

 conspicuous. These wounds produce an effect 

 similar to girdling, and where many limbs are 

 attacked the effect on a tree is disastrous. 



In preliminary work on the disease certain 

 large dark-colored spores were continually 

 found, but they were supposed to come from 

 some saprophyte not worthy of attention. In 

 ■cultures made from diseased bai'k this form, to- 

 gether with another, continually appeared. 

 Finally both forms were separated and trans- 

 ferred to bean stems in test tubes. In the one 

 case the familiar dark spores were produced, 

 while in the other the sporophores of Schizophyl- 

 lum commune were formed. 



Inoculations were made with both forms on 

 apple seedlings in the nursery and on limbs of 

 an apple tree. In two weeks' time it was found 

 that in every case inoculations made from the 

 fungus with dark spores had taken effect, while 

 the Schizophyllum had in no instance made any 

 growth. The wounds made in the bark of 

 check trees healed over at once. More inocula- 

 tions were now made and the results have been 

 the same. At this date, October 9th, several of 

 the seedlings are nearly girdled with wounds 

 three to four inches in length. The inocula- 

 tions on the limbs of apple trees have made an 

 equally satisfactory growth, laying bare the 

 wood and producing the dead, sunken areas of 

 bark characteristic of the disease. 



When it was found that the. fungus with the 

 dark spores was parasitic, diligent search was 

 made for the spores on diseased bark, but none 

 were to be found. This was in the fore part of 

 July. Further search throughout the summer 

 failed to reveal any of the spores. 



On September 11th Mr. F. C. Stewart, Bot- 

 anist of this Station, examined the test-tube 

 cultures and at once noted the strong resem- 

 blance of the dark spores to those of the black 

 rot of the apple, Sphseropsis malorum, Peck. 

 Mature apples were at once inoculated with 

 material from the test tubes. In twenty-four 

 hours decay had begun around points of inocu- 

 lation, and in 16 days pycindia and mature 

 spores of Sphseropsis were found on all inoc- 

 ulated apples. The check apples which were 

 punctured but not inoculated remained sound. 

 Further search for the dark spores on diseased 



bark revealed pycnidia just beneath the epider- 

 mis containing the mature brown spores and 

 immature ones still attached. All characters 

 were identical with Sphseropsis on the fruit. 

 These same pycnidia were subsequently found 

 on bark of the nursery stock and apple-tree 

 limbs where the inoculations were made. Pure 

 cultures of Sphseropsis malorum from apples 

 make the same growth on bean stems and bear 

 fruit in exactly the same manner as the first 

 cultures from which the inoculations were 

 made. 



While it seems reasonably certain that this 

 canker of the apple is caused by a well-known 

 fungus in a hitherto unrecognized role, the re- 

 sult of a set of experiments now under way is 

 awaited to complete the chain of evidence. 

 Seedlings placed in the greenhouse have been 

 inoculated with pure cultures of Sphseropsis 

 malorum taken from affected apples. If these 

 inoculations produce the so-called canker the 

 identity of the disease will be established. 



W. Paddock. 



WAMPUM BELTS. 



To THE Editoe of SCIENCE : Thanks for the 

 kind notice of my article on wampum by my 

 esteemed friend, Dr. Brinton. I wish, how- 

 ever, to correct the word ' acknowledges,' as it 

 seems to imply that I believe in the early use 

 of council wampum, a belief against which I 

 have argued for years. In a very mild way I 

 stated that ' it is very doubtful whether wam- 

 pum belts were used before the coming of the 

 whites as necessary or ordinary parts of Indian 

 councils.' I thought quill belts might have 

 been used, as in the Onondaga tradition of 

 Hiawatha. Because of the great rarity of shell 

 beads on early sites in New York and Canada, 

 I thought ' a mistake has been made regarding 

 Cartier's account of Hochelagan beads in 1535.' 

 But one shell bead has been found at Hochelaga, 

 and there is a corresponding rarity on early 

 Mohawk and Onondaga sites. Quoting another 

 I said, " My own experience is the same. Pre- 

 historic Onondaga sites yield few shell articles 

 or none at all." 



I have examined as many wampum belts and 

 as much council wampum as most men, and my 

 conclusion is precisely that of Dr. Brinton. 



