Annual  Report  for  1910  of  the  Botanist.  315 
Fruit  Trees. — A small  number  of  inquiries  were  received 
with  regard  to  the  commoner  diseases  of  fruit  trees.  These 
included  six  cases  of  peach  curl  ( Exoascus  deformans ),  apple 
canker  ( Nectria  ditissima),  brown  rot  of  apples  and  plums 
( Monilia  fructigena ),  and  the  apple  scab  ( Fusicladium  den- 
dr  iticum). 
Two  obscure  diseases,  due  in  all  probability  to  parasitic 
fungi,  are  still  under  investigation.  One,  in  the  mangold,  is 
characterised  by  an  almost  complete  separation  of  the  rings 
from  one  another,  though  otherwise  no  great  damage  is  done 
to  the  tissues  of  the  root ; the  other  attacks  the  rhizomes  of 
seedling  asparagus  plants  and  rapidly  kills  them. 
During  the  course  of  the  year  nearly  thirty  inquiries  with 
regard  to  weeds  were  dealt  with.  Few  of  these  were  of  any 
general  interest.  One  exceptional  case  is  possibly  worthy  of 
mention  in  which  the  somewhat  rare  hoary  cress  ( Lepidium 
draha ) had  obtained  a footing  on  arable  land  and  spread  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  become  a nuisance.  The  plant  is  a deeply- 
rooted  perennial  which  seeds  freely  and  can,  under  suitable 
conditions,  thrive  in  hedgerows  or  even  in  open  pastures. 
I understand  that  steps  were  promptly  taken  to  exterminate 
it  by  hand-pulling. 
Some  twenty  inquiries  on  the  subject  of  the  formation  of 
permanent  pastures  were  made  in  the  course  of  the  year. 
Considerable  aid  was  afforded  in  several  cases  by  Members 
forwarding  samples  of  the  herbage  of  neighbouring  fields,  and 
in  one  case  actual  turves,  chosen,  as  far  as  possible,  to  be  repre- 
sentative of  the  local  grass  flora.  From  a botanical  analysis  of 
these  an  excellent  idea  of  the  grasses  flourishing  under  the 
same  conditions  could  be  obtained  and  prescriptions  for  the 
mixtures  drawn  up  accordingly.  I would  suggest  that  Members 
requiring  advice  of  this  kind  should  adopt  one  of  these  plans,  as 
it  gives  far  more  precise  information  than  any  description  of 
the  soils  and  local  conditions  can  afford. 
Apart  from  the  various  sections  already  mentioned,  general 
information  was  asked  for  on  a number  of  subjects,  such  as  the 
respective  yielding  capacity  of  the  staple  varieties  of  barley  ; 
the  quality  of  certain  varieties  of  wheat  and  their  suitability  for 
special  soils ; and,  following  some  sensational  newspaper  reports, 
the  possibility  of  growing  two  wheat  crops  in  a single  season. 
R.  H.  Biffen. 
School  of  Agriculture, 
Cambridge. 
