1921] SPENCER—BRAZIL NUTS 267 
Although the use of nuts as foods and confections has recently 
become extended and general, there is but little concerning nut 
diseases in the literature, and studies of the diseases affecting the 
nuts only for the most part have been superficial. MANGIN (17) 
described a “black rot” of chestnuts caused by Harziella castanae 
Bain., and found it to cause a 26 per cent loss of nuts gathered late 
in de season. VON IvANOFF (31), in studying Trichothecium 
roseum Link, found it in pure state on the kernels of Corylus avellana 
and Pinus cembra, and this, with RAND’s (23) work on Coniothyrium 
caryogenium Rand, is the only serious investigation of nut parasites 
that has been made. Marrz (18) reports a species of Cephalo- 
thectum on pecans in Florida. Kuni (13) isolated Aspergillus 
flavus Mont. from Brazil nuts, but his description of both disease 
and fungus is meager. 
A few parasites of nut plants cause diseases of the nuts them- 
selves. The most serious disease of this kind is that produced by” 
Pseudomonas juglandis Pierce, which, according to SmrrH (27), 
attacks the nuts as well as other growing parts, and ‘‘a nut in 
such cases is deformed in shape... . and the kernel .. . . is 
only poorly developed.” Prerce (21) says that in young nuts 
the kernel is destroyed. Chestnuts are affected by Endothia 
parasitica (Murr.) A. and A. RuMBOLD (24) says that the hyphae 
of this parasite spread throughout the kernel. The kernel spot of 
pecan produced by Coniothyrium caryogenium Rand has incidently 
been studied by TuRNER (30), and by RAnp (23). In addition to 
these studies, there have been some reports on storage results 
(6, 29), and McMurran (16) mentions what he considers a non- 
parasitic disease, the “‘black-pit” of pecan. 
The aim of the present investigation was to isolate and identify 
as many as possible of the more important fungi and bacteria 
causing deterioration of Brazil nuts. Seven distinct organisms 
have been isolated, studied, and their etiological relation to the 
nut deterioration demonstrated. The remainder of the paper com- 
prises the methods of study and descriptions of the organisms 
isolated. 
Methods 
The nuts studied were obtained from two wholesale firms in 
Chicago and from retail grocery stores in Champaign and Urbana, 
