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not be solid ones, and that they should be raised above the floor 
surface, with a space between the bottom of the bench and the 
floor of the house; for while the little creatures may crawl up 
the sides of the low bench from adjoining benches, they will not 
do this, according to our observations, if the benches are slightly 
raised as indicated. 
The Carnation Bud-rot, and the Mite (Pediculopsis 
graminum Reuter) accompanying it 
In the fall of 1907 carnation buds in many of the greenhouses 
around Chicago were found to be characteristically deformed, 
sometimes being more or less lop-sided, and in every case with 
the inner petals closed at the top, the bud looking as if all the 
petal tips were fastened together in the center. Upon dissection 
the inner parts of these buds were found to be more or less de¬ 
cayed, and usually contained one or more glistening whitish egg¬ 
like bodies, which proved to be female mites, with greatly dis¬ 
tended abdomens. The diseased buds were shown to Mr. H. F< 
Hodgkiss, at that time connected with this office, who informed 
me that the trouble was one which he and Mr. F. C. Stewart had 
been investigating in New York State. Since then, Messrs. Stewart 
and Hodgkiss have published a very carefully prepared paper on 
this bud-rot and the mite accompanying it.* 
This rot is caused by a species of fungus (Sporotrichum pocc 
Pk.), which also causes the silver-top of June-grass, and the mite 
mentioned above as being usually found in diseased carnation 
buds, has also been found accompanying the fungus on grass. 
Altho the mite is not the direct cause of the injury, observations 
made in Illinois indicate that it is the chief means of conveying 
the fungus spores to the buds, and from one bud to another. In 
all cases the rotting begins in the center of the bud, whereas it 
would no doubt sometimes be found beginning from the outside 
if the spores were disseminated by wind or water. Furthermore, 
in all of the greenhouses around Chicago where the bud-rot was 
found, sod soil was used; and the trouble appears only in fall, 
shortly after the soil has been renewed. 
From observations in Illinois certain varieties of carnations 
seem to be more susceptible to this injury than others. For ex¬ 
ample, the white varieties, such as Lawson and Perfection, were 
the worst attacked. The pink and light red varieties were only 
slightly affected, while among the dark red ones I have found no 
rotting buds. It is noteworthy that in Illinois, New York, and 
*The Sporotrichum Bud-Rot of Carnations and the Silver Top of June 
Grass. Tech. Bull. N. Y. Agr. Exper. Station, No. 7 (Oct., tqo8). Geneva. 
