New YorRK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 223 
it here although we have been on the lookout for it since 1900. 
There have come to our attention a few cases of mysterious dying 
of alfalfa in circular spots, but we have been unable to definitely 
connect any Rhizoctonia with such trouble. Yet there are indica- 
tions that Rhizoctonia may sometimes be harmful to alfalfa. 
In the spring of 1907 Mr. C. H. Kingsbury, Barnard, N. Y., sent 
to the Station 25 alfalfa crowns taken from a dead spot in his 
alfalfa field. One of these crowns bore several typical Rhizoc- 
tonia sclerotia, but the other 24 showed no sign of Rhizoctonia. 
Pure cultures of the Rhizoctonia were obtained and some inocula- 
tion experiments made on alfalfa seedlings, also on five-months-oid 
alfalfa plants in pots. There were no indications that either the 
seedlings or the older plants were in any way injured although the 
conditions must have been favorable to the growth of the Rhizoc- 
tonia. One of the writers made an examination of the Kingsbury 
field, but the cause of the trouble could not be determined. 
In April, 1907, a box of alfalfa seedlings in the Station green- 
house “ damped off” quite badly. Microscopic examination of the 
affected seedlings showed them to be infested with Rhizoctonia to 
so great an extent and in such manner as to leave little doubt that 
this fungus was responsible for their death. Later it was proven by 
inoculation experiments with pure cultures that the Rhizoctonia act- 
ually is capable of causing damping off of alfalfa seedlings provided 
there is present an abundance of moisture. Older plants, also, were 
killed by artificial inoculation, but only when their crowns were 
kept constantly moist by placing wet moss around them. We have 
never seen alfalfa seedlings in the field damped off by Rhizoctonia, 
but our observations have been too few to warrant the conclusion 
that it does not occur. In a newly-seeded alfalfa field at Halcott- 
ville, N. Y., the seedling plants over large areas were destroyed by 
something not visible to the unaided eye. Unfortunately, there 
“It would be strange indeed if alfalfa is not sometimes attacked by Rhiz- 
octonia which is more or less parasitic on a great variety of plants and is 
very common in New York soils. (See N. Y. Sta. Bul. 186.) In 1900, some 
five-months-old alfalfa plants growing in the greenhouse were inoculated 
with three kind of Rhizoctonia,— from phlox, cabbage and carnation. Al- 
though the conditions were made highly favorable for the growth and 
attack of the Rhizoctonia no injury resulted to the plants treated with phlox 
Rhizoctonia and cabbage Rhizoctonia, but on one of the three plants treated 
with carnation Rhizoctonia four shoots died within a month after inocula- 
tion. Three of the dead shoots appeared to have been killed by the Rhiz- 
octonia while the fourth probably died from another cause. 
