101 
one to five days and sent through the mails, the external appearance 
and progress of the disease on the boll is as follows : 
One or more dark colored spots make their appearance on the green 
capsule. These increase in size and usually become covered with a 
flesh-colored powder for a short time. This is likely to disappear later 
leaving a poorly defined spot from which a blackish discoloration, often 
showing little spots of the pink powder on its surface, extends over the 
t boll. The black discoloration may reach a considerable extent before 
the spot becomes pink at all, and judging from the appearance of some 
of the bolls it would seem as if the black color sometimes appears in¬ 
dependently, without the pink spots. The growth of the capsule ceases 
wherever the discoloration extends; this causes the segments to crack 
apart through the diseased areas, leaving the half-ripe cotton exposed 
to the rain and dew as well as to the attacks of numerous insects. The 
capsule itself loses its power of resisting moisture and often becomes 
water-soaked and covered by saprophytic fungi. The saprophytic fungi., 
as well as the fungus causing the disease, often penetrate the cotton 
mass itself and the exposed portion becomes covered with a pinkish 
powder or with the white filaments and fruit of the saprophytes. As 
might be expected under these untoward circumstances, the cotton, and 
often the seeds as well, decays very quickly, especially if wet weather 
follows and if the bolls are attacked when young. If, however, they 
do not become diseased until they are nearly ready to burst open, and 
the weather remains dry, they may not be materially injured. 
BOTANICAL CHARACTERS. 
The vegetative portion of the fungus is branching and septate (Fig. 
6 ), usually colorless, but sometimes showing a little darkening of the 
walls, of varying diameter, but usually about 5 The mycelium pene¬ 
trates the cells, often showing a constriction where it passes through 
the walls, with a slight enlargement on one or both sides (Fig. 5.). 
Frequently a hypha runs along in contact with the wall for some way 
before it pushes through. The mycelium is exceedingly abundant in 
the tissues, and sometimes appears to nearly fill the cells. In conse¬ 
quence of its presence the cell contents become disorganized and the 
cell walls frequently collapse, especially near the surface, where a sec¬ 
tion through the diseased tissue shows no cavities remaining. The 
chlorophyll is at first resolved into bright green globular masses, but 
later all the green color disappears, leaving only a small quantity of 
disorganized brownish material in the cells. 
Anywhere in its course the vegetative mycelium may send off branches 
which push out to the surface aud bear spores at their free ends. A 
quantity of these are generally sent off close together and become so 
matted at the surface of the boll that a stroma is formed from which 
spring the ends of the spore-bearing branches or basidia. This stroma 
varies very much as regards quantity; it may be a scarcely perceptible 
layer, or it may extend for some distance above the surface and pene- 
