652 Powdery Mildew of Peach and Gherry. [nov., 



changes in the various classes, however, are not all in the 

 same direction as in previous years : cows and heifers in 

 milk or in calf having declined by 27,000, and calves by 

 39,000. Other cattle of two years and above, and of one 

 year and under two, show substantial increases of 36,000 and 

 46,000 respectively, thus reflecting the increases in the latter 

 class and in calves noted last year. 



Sheep have more than lost the increase noted last year, the 

 decline amounting to 517,000, or not quite 2 per cent. There 

 is an insignificant increase in the largest class, namely, sheep 

 under one year, but there has been the substantial reduction 

 of 374,000, or nearly 6J- per cent., in the number of other 

 sheep (excluding breeding ewes), while breeding ewes have 

 declined by 146,000, or ij per cent. The number of the 

 latter, however, is still well above that in any previous year, 

 except 1909, since this class was first separately distinguished 

 in the returns. 



There has been a further decline of 31,000, or ij per cent., 

 in the number of pigs, the total this year being just under 

 2,350,000. The decrease, however, is confined to pigs other 

 than breeding sows, the latter having risen by nearly 15,000, 

 or 4I per cent., to 331,000. 



This fungus (Po do splicer a oxyacanthce, De Bary) often 

 proves very injurious to the peach and cherry, and also occurs 

 less frequently on apple, quince, and 

 Powdery Mildew of various wild rosaceous plants. It first 

 Peach and Cherry. appears under the form of small, scat- 

 tered, snow-white patches on both sur- 

 faces of the young leaves. These patches, under favourable 

 conditions, rapidly increase in size until eventually the entire 

 surface of the leaf becomes covered with a white, powdery 

 substance, which gives it the appearance of having been 

 dusted with flour. The young shoots are also frequently 

 attacked. The peach suffers most from this disease, as the 

 fungus usually passes from the leaves on to the young fruit, 

 where, owing to the dense felt of down, its presence is not 

 observed for some time. Eventually, however, when the 

 chains of conidia are produced, these stand up above the 

 down and show as large white patches, which sometimes 1 



