216 T. H. HARRISON. 



conditions for twelve months, he succeeded in obtaining 

 apothecia from them. 



In Australia, the apothecial stage has not previously 

 been reported. 



Place of Occurrence. 



Aided by a knowledge of the conditions under which 

 apothecia were found in England and America, and acting 

 upon the advice of Mr. W. L. Waterhouse, the writer com- 

 menced a search for apothecia at Pennant Hills, a fruit- 

 growing district about twenty miles from Sydney. The 

 site selected was an orchard situated at an elevation of 

 600 feet, having a north-westerly aspect and subject to 

 frosts. 



Weather Conditions. 



In December of 1920, the coastal districts of New South 

 Wales experienced one of the severest cyclonic disturbances 

 on record. For over a week in early December (midsum- 

 mer) torrents of rain fell, fourteen (14) inches being 

 recorded. This weather was followed by a series of alternat- 

 ing fine and wet days, the old year closing and the new 

 year opening with more drenching rain. At the time when 

 these excessively humid conditions prevailed the crops of 

 stone fruits were just reaching maturity. 



The excessive rain caused the ripening apricots to crack 

 thus preparing the way for the rapid work of the Brown 

 Rot fungus. As a result in most orchards at Pennant Hills 

 the apricot crop was completely destroyed. At the end 

 of the summer, thousands of the mummified fruits remained 

 on the trees. Slowly, under the action of climatic con- 

 ditions, most of these fell to the ground where they lay 

 undisturbed throughout several months. Although the 

 vast majority had fallen by June, on many trees some still 

 remain, being especially abundant on plum trees of Luther- 

 borough and Burbank variety. 



