Plant Diseases of 1901 . 
11 
CHERRY TREE WOUND PARASITE. 
Mr. Hankins, Horticultural Inspector for Larimer County, called 
my attention to a disease of cherry trees in an orchard at Berthoud, 
where about fifty trees in a young orchard of sour cherries had been 
destroyed. All of the badly diseased trees then remaining were 
found to be injured on the trunks, similar to those shown in the il¬ 
lustration in Plate IV., Fig. 1. Large areas of bark had been 
destroyed which were still clinging tenaciously to the wood. The 
larger wounds were conspicuous, and when the dead bark was re¬ 
moved, as shown in the figure on the left, it was plain that these 
injuries were the cause of the death of the trees. In some instances, 
the trees were nearly girdled, but where the injury was of less ex¬ 
tent, the loss of the bark, together with the drying out of the ex¬ 
posed wood, had interfered with the nutrition enough' to kill the 
tree. All other parts were in normal condition. 
The owner informed me that the orchard had been neglected 
and the trees bruised by careless hands while it was in charge of a 
renter. It is likely that such wounds afforded entrance to some 
fungus which belongs to a class known as wound parasites. These 
fungi are unable to penetrate living bark, but when they gain ac¬ 
cess to the tissues through a wound they are able to entend the in¬ 
jury. On examining closely, an abundance of white hypha was 
found beneath the dead bark, but what part the fungus took in the 
injury, if any, has not been determined. 
Some neglected trees in the vicinity of Fort Collins were found 
which showed similar symptoms. These trees had been torn by 
wind and bruised by hail, thus producing wounds through which 
fungi could enter readily. 
The loss of trees in the younger orchard would probably not 
have occurred if greater pains had been taken in cultivating. When 
wounds are accidentally or necessarily made they should immedi¬ 
ately be protected by a coat of thick paint or grafting wax. By tak¬ 
ing such precautions it is not likely that this disease of cherry trees 
will cause much damage. 
ASPARAGUS RUST. 
(Puccinia asparcigi), 
A portion of an asparagus plant, as shown in Plate V., Fig. 1, 
affected with rust, was received in October from a gentleman at 
Rockyford. This is probably the first time that this fungus has 
been reported from this State, and while it has done but little 
damage as yet, its presence here is of importance, as it has done a 
large amount of injury to asparagus plantations in other States. In 
some localities, where many acres of asparagus were formerly grown, 
