216 
everywhere, and we feel sure that we voice the sentiment of all workers 
in this field when we say that the Kew authorities could not render a 
better and more highly appreciated service than the carrying out of 
such an undertaking. 
NEW LOCALITIES FOR PERONOSPORA CUBENSIS, B. & C. 
In the Botanical Gazette for August, 1889, and on page 201 of the 
present Journal, attention is called to this fungus, the localities for its 
occurrence being given as Cuba, Japan, and New Jersey. We have re¬ 
cently received it from Anona, Fla., and College Station, Tex. At the 
former place, according to our correspondent, it appeared in the early 
part of December and destroyed a large number of cucumber plants 
growing in the open air in a few days. At College Station it also oc¬ 
curred upon Cucumis sativa, but no account of the injury it occasioned 
was furnished. That it was abundant there, however, is evident from 
the fact that our correspondent sent us more than 150 good specimens 
and did not seem to have any trouble in getting them. 
REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE. 
Beucker, Georges. Traitement du Mildiou. Le Progres Agricole, 4 
aout 1889: ibid., l er septembre 1889. 
These short reports coming from the French School of Agriculture 
recommend strongly to the use of viticulturists a fungicide which has 
hitherto not been used to any great extent in this country—verdigris, 
or basic copper acetate. In an experiment extending over three years 
this fungicide has proved to be, taking all its features into considera¬ 
tion, the most satisfactory among the copper compounds. The chemical 
itself beiug*a mixture of the normal and bibasic acetates of copper is 
decomposed by the action of water, and the insoluble bibasic salt pre¬ 
cipitated as a light jelly-like substance, which upon being sprayed upon 
the leaves dries and covers them with a hard horny layer. It is claimed 
for this solution, made by adding to 6 or 8 gallons of water at the 
ordinary temperature 2 to 4 pounds of the powdered verdigris and 
allowing it to stand twenty-four hours before diluting to 22 gallons, 
that it possesses in a much higher degree than the Bordeaux mixture 
the quality of adhesiveness, while lacking none of the latter’s qualities 
as a preventive of mildew. 
In the report of September the author answers many questions 
brought out by the former report of August in regard to the nature of 
the chemical and its proper application, giving in some detail a method 
for the home production of the basic acetate from the waste marc , or 
pumice of the grape, and small copper plates. The cost of the mate¬ 
rial is also carefully worked out, calculation being made for labor of 
