Chapter 9. 
DISEASES OF ROOTS AND TUBERS. 
Fingers-and-Toes of Turnips, Cabbages, etc. Habits and life 
history of the fungus. Remedial treatment. ‘‘ Liming” of the 
soil, etc. Similar diseases, e.g., Black Scab or Wart Disease of 
Potatoes, ‘‘Spongy Scab,”’ etc. 
The disease commonly known as Fingers-and-Toes, 
or Club-Root disease, attacks ali cruciferous crops, includ- 
ing Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Brussels Sprouts, Kohl Rabi, 
Broccoli, Turnips and Swedes. It is produced by a fungus 
known as Plasmodiophora Brassicae, and causes consider- 
able damage both in the gardens and fields in many dis- 
tricts of England; its ravages are even greater on the 
Continent, and it is also abundant in America. 
The general appearance of the disease is well known. 
Plants, which are attacked, Show irregular warty swellings 
‘on the root, and in bad cases the whole root may simply 
consist of a mass of these excrescences. The disease can 
often be recognised in its earliest stages on pulling up 
young cabbages for transplanting. If such seedlings are 
planted they prove practically useless, for the disease 
simply increases at thie expense of the roots, any leaves 
‘developed being feeble and unable to provide for healthy 
growth. 
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