igo6.] A Fungous Disease of Lucerne. 



51 





(In Thousands of Bushels.) 







1905-6. 



1904-5. 



1903-4. 



Victoria 



23,500 



20,945 



28,536 



New South ^V ales ... 



20,640 



16,465 



27,334 



Queensland ... 



1,700 



2,150 



2,437 



South Australia 



21,000 



13,023 



13,209 



West Australia 



1,500 



1,692 



1,876 



Tasmania 



700 



790 



767 



Total 



69,040 



55,065 



74,150 



New Zealand 



6,500 



7,300 



7,890 



Argenti?ia. — According to the same publication the official 

 crop returns put the wheat crop of Argentina for the year 1906 

 at 3,882,000 tons (of 2,204 lb.), which may be compared with 

 4,102,000 tons in 1905, and 3,529,000 tons in 1904. 



Some plants of lucerne were recently sent from a farm near 



Herne Bay to the South-Eastern Agricultural College, Wye, 



and on examination by Mr. Salmon were 



A Fung-OUS Disease found to be attacked by a fungus, U ro- 

 of Lucerne. . 



thlyctis alfalfce, which had not previously 



been reported as occurring in England. Mr. Salmon, in com- 

 municating this fact to the Gardeners' Chronicle {2 a^\\\ Feb., 1906), 

 states that on examining the plants several superficial, warted, 

 gall-like outgrowths, about three-quarters of an inch 'across, 

 were found on the crown of the root. These " galls " consist 

 of the hypertrophied tissue of the host-plant, and were found on 

 being cut across to contain a number of minute cavities or 

 chambers filled with a crowded mass of brownish spores, which 

 are the resting-spores of the fungus. From the appearance of 

 the plants it was evident that they had been infested for some 

 time, and the injuries caused had induced the plants to throw 

 out fresh or extended crowns. Some of the plants were almost 

 killed. 



The present disease was first observed in 1892 in Ecuador, 

 where it causes considerable loss in certain districts. It is not 



