4 James G. Horsfall 



Phleum pratense L., have been studied most intensively, and some atten- 

 tion has been paid to the diseases of the less-important clovers and grasses 

 in the State. Some consideration has been given to a destructive disease 

 of blue-grass, Poa pratensis L., which, though not a crop of first rank in the 

 State, is commonly found on lawns, golf courses, and in meadow mixtures. 

 Many pathogenes attacking the first-named suscepts have been studied 

 also in their relation to other possible suscepts. The diseases of alfalfa, 

 Medicago saliva L., were included in the survey of the State, but a further 

 study of them was not made unless the plant happened to be a suscept of 

 some of the other diseases involved in the investigation. The following 

 is a list of the other suscepts mentioned in this paper: crimson clover, 

 Trifolium incamatum L. ; sweet clover, Melilotus alba Desr. ; zigzag clover, 

 Trifolium medium L. ; hop clover, Trifolium agrarium L.; vetch, Vicia 

 villosa Roth.; yellow trefoil, or black medick, Medicago lupulina L. ; red 

 top, Agrostis alba L. ; orchard grass, Dactylis glomerata L. ; quack grass, 

 Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. The writer has followed Wiegand and 

 Eames (1925) in the use of Latin names of the suscepts found in New 

 York. 



IMPORTANCE OF MEADOW CROPS IN THE STATE 



An investigation of the diseases of meadow crops in New York is par- 

 ticularly important since hay is a valuable crop in the State and since 

 New York leads the Union in its production. According to the New 

 York State Crop Report for January, 1928, published by the New York 

 State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the tame-hay crop of the 

 State in 1927 was worth $82,614,000. This is more than twice the value 

 of the potato crop, the nearest competitor, which is listed at $35,775,000. 

 The hay crop in 1927 was worth more than the combined valuation of 

 potatoes, corn, apples, and oats, which are the crops of next importance 

 arranged in descending order It was worth also twice as much as all 

 the following crops combined: winter wheat, barley, beans, buckwheat, 

 cabbage, grapes, pears, strawberries, and cauliflower, each one of which 

 s valued at more than $2,000,000. 



In the United States as a whole, hay ranks third in value as a crop, being 

 exceeded only by corn and cotton. It, therefore, is obvious that an in- 

 vestigation of the diseases of the hay crop is not without economic signif- 

 icance. This is especially true in New York, which leads the Nation in 

 hay production, both in acreage and in tonnage (Callander and others, 

 1927:986). In 1926, New York planted a timothy and clover mixture 

 on 2,205,000 acres and harvested 2,999,000 tons of hay. Her nearest 

 rival in hay production is Wisconsin, where the 1,710,000 acres planted 

 in 1926 yielded 1,650,000 tons of hay. 



