Report of Investigations on the M ulberry- Dwarf Troubles— 

 a Disease widely spread in Japan. 



BY 



U. Suzuki, Nogakushi, 

 Assistant Professor of Agricultural Chemistry. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Since more than ten years there has been observed a disease 

 of the mulberry, known as ''Ishikubyo or shikuyobyo''* attacking 

 the leaves and branches, and checking growth and finally caus- 

 ing the death of the whole plant. When this disease once ap- 

 pears in a farm it spreads gradually, and finally attacking the 

 entire farm, causes an immense loss to silkworm raisers by 

 destroying the crop of the mulberry almost entirely. And al- 

 though several persons have been engaged in seeking for a 

 method of combatting the disease, none has as yet been success- 

 ful, the disease in the meantime becoming more and more ram- 

 pant, and calling forth an earnest demand for remedy on the part 

 of the interested farmers. At last the Japanese government took 

 the matter in hand, and a bill was passed through the Diet pro- 

 viding an annual expenditure of several thousand yen after April, 

 1897 for an investigation of the question. A board of specialists 

 was appointed, consisting of the following gentlemen besides the 

 present writer : Prof. C. Sasaki, Mr. J. Omori, Mr. I. Honda, Mr. 

 N. Ichikawa, Mr. H. Nomura. Since then we have inspected the 

 actual condition of the attacked farms in various localities and 

 have instituted a systematic investigation of the problem from 

 different points of view on an experiment farm at Nishigahara (a 

 suburb of Tokyo) of about 275,000 sq. ft. in extent. In the mean 

 while Mr. Nomura withdrew from the board, and Mr. Ichikawa 



* Here translated " Mulberry-Dwarf Troubles." 



