128 JOURNAL OF THE KOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ON THE AMERICAN GOOSEBERRY-MILDE \Y, AND THE 

 NEED FOR LEGISLATION. 



By Ernest S. Salmon, F.L.S., Hon. F.R.H.S., South-Eastern 

 Agricultural College, Wye, Kent. 



I. — The Spread of the Disease in Europe. 



In vol. xxix. of the present Journal, appearing in December 1904, in a 

 paper entitled u On the Present Aspect of the Epidemic of the American 

 Gooseberry-mildew in Europe," I gave an account of the spread of this 

 disease up to that date. At that time Ireland, Russia, and Denmark 

 were the only European countries in which the disease had been observed. 

 I pointed out in this article (I.e., pp. 102, 103) that the circumstances 

 attending the outbreak of the American gooseberry-mildew in Europe, and 

 the course the disease has since followed, were entirely similar to those 

 of the early .stages of the epidemic of the vine-ruildew — the well-known 

 Oidium Tuchcri — a disease which appeared first in Europe in 1845, at 

 Margate, and by 1853 had spread over almost the whole of Europe, devastat- 

 ing every vineyard in its path. The facts now to hand show that the 

 American gooseberry-mildew [Sphosrotheca mors-uva (Schwein.), Berk.), 

 recently introduced into Europe, is still steadily increasing its area of 

 distribution, just as the ^ne-mildew did after its first appearance. 

 Sweden, Norway, Germany, Poland, Austria, and Finland are now to be 

 added to the European countries in which this American fungus has 

 appeared. 



The wholesale destruction of the gooseberry crop which the present 

 fungus causes is described in my previous papers in this Journal, where 

 a full and illustrated account of the fungus is given, together with the 

 best means to be employed against the disease. 



I propose to give below the most important details in connection with 

 the recent appearance of the disease in foreign European countries, and 

 the manner in which the disease is being combated in certain 

 countries. Before doiDg so, however, I will mention the present dis- 

 tribution of the disease in Ireland. In 1904, in the paper mentioned 

 above, I recorded the occurrence of the fungus in nine localities in six 

 counties. From information which I have since received it is clear that 

 the disease has increased its area to a considerable extent. The following 

 notes come from the various affected localities. 



Queen s Co. : Abbeyleix. — A correspondent writes : u The disease was 

 bad again with me this year (1905), and I have now burnt all my bushes, 

 and do not mean to have any again in my garden for two years. I also 

 saw the mildew in a garden half a mile from my own, and it was very 

 bad there. I heard of it, too, in Co. Carlow." 



Co. Antrim. — A correspondent wrote from Antrim in October 1904 : 

 u The American gooseberry-mildew has increased very much with me. I 



