NEWS AND NOTES 
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Dr. Frank D. Kern has been appointed professor of botany in 
the Pennsylvania State College. 
Professor E. J. Durand of Missouri State University was a 
recent visitor at the New York Botanical Garden. 
Professor Mel. T. Cook delivered a lecture in the museum 
building of the New York Botanical Garden on June 14. The 
subject of the lecture was “Diseases of Fruit Trees.” 
Mr. Guy West Wilson, graduate student in Columbia Univer- 
sity during the past year, has been appointed special agent by the 
United States Bureau of Plant Industry for the investigation of 
the chestnut blight fungus and its relation to tannin and other 
plant products. He is associated in this work with Professor 
Mel. T. Cook at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 
The New York Botanical Garden received in July a collection 
of 213 specimens of fungi and slime moulds from Porto Rico, 
collected by J. R. Johnston. 
Tht Botanical Gazette for June contains an article by Howard S. 
Reed and J. S. Cooley on the transpiration of apple leaves infested 
with Gymnosporanginm. A retardation of transpiration in the 
diseased leaves has been shown. Since it is known that trans- 
piration and growth are intimately associated it is believed that 
the decrease in transpiration in the diseased leaves may be one 
of the factors in determining the bad physiological condition of 
such trees. 
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