REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST I913 7 



be permanent, nor is it likely that the trees thus affected will suffer 

 from more than a slight setback. The damage consists chiefly in 

 the unsightly appearance of the foliage. Local and even widespread 

 occurrence of this sort of damage has frequently been reported 

 in former years but not with such severity as during the summer 

 of 1913. 



A new fungus enemy of the maple. Several ornamental sugar 

 maples at Glen Cove were observed by Mr F. E. Willets to be 

 suffering from an attack of a fungus which caused the death of 

 numerous twigs and branches, so that by August the trees were 

 quite unsightly with the accumulation of dead twigs and brown 

 leaves upon them. The fungus has been identified as Stegano- 

 sporium piriforme (Hoff.) Cd., which is said to have been 

 destructive to maples in a town in southern Minnesota at one time. 

 It seems, however, not to have been previously noted in New York 

 State. It is not usually regarded as a serious enemy of the maple 

 and its destructive work at Glen Cove may be due to a combination 

 of circumstances, not the least of which was the weakened con- 

 dition of the trees due to the excessive and prolonged drought. 



Weather and fungi. Numerous observations in former years 

 have led to the conclusion that unusually dry seasons were pro- 

 ductive of but few forms of fleshy fungi, and Doctor Peck makes 

 special comment upon the abundance and variety of fungi following 

 a damp or rainy summer (Annual Report of State Botanist for 

 1912, page 9). The season of 1913 seems to furnish abundant sup- 

 port to his conclusions for in most parts of the State few fleshy 

 fungi developed during the summer, although numerous common 

 ones appeared late in the fall and a large crop of field mushrooms 

 followed favorable summer rains in most localities. Many corre- 

 spondents have concurred in attributing the scarcity of fleshy species 

 during the summer to the unusually dry weather. 



Condition of the collections. The collections having been moved 

 to the new Museum quarters early in the year, much time was 

 necessarily occupied in properly arranging the herbarium and dupli- 

 cate specimens in the new metal cases. 



The collections of fungi made by the staff or received through 

 contributions during the past year have been placed in cardboard 

 boxes suitable for their reception and arranged in their proper 

 places in the herbarium. The collections (345 in number) include 

 55 specimens of fungi and 290 specimens of ferns and flowering 

 plants, collected in the counties of Albany, Madison, Rensselaer, 

 Oneida, Onondaga, Schenectady and St Lawrence. 



