New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STaTION. —= 21 
A Mycospherella wilt of meions.— The muskmelons in one 
of the Station greenhouses were much damaged during 1907-8 by 
an uncommon disease. The vines were parasitized by a fungus 
(Mycospherella) shortly before the earliest melons were ripe. 
The disease was preceded, in both instances, by the attacks of a 
red spider, though in 1908 the damage by the spiders was but 
slight. The fungus is reported as causing a disease of several 
eucurbits in the fields in some parts of Delaware, but had never 
been recorded for this State. Since the Delaware reports differed 
in some respects from the observations made at this Station in 
1907, nothing was published till further information could be 
obtained on the points of difference. ‘The observations were 
repeated and extended in 1908. 
The pathogeneity of the fungus and the relation of its two 
spore-forms are established. Inoculation experiments were effect- 
ive, and, with but a few exceptions, the spore-forms of the fungus 
always appeared successively on the inoculated vines. 
Though this disease has recently been fouid destructive in 
several of the southeastern States, it is seemingly harmful only 
in melon greenhouses of this State. For a fuller report see 
Technical Bulletin 9. | 
Crown-rot, arsenical poisoning and winter-injury.—Crown-rot 
has been attributed to parasitic organisms, to arsenical poisoning 
and also to low temperature. From the available literature 
reviewed and from recent observations (though there are many 
contradictions) there seems little doubt about its being due to low 
temperatures, primarily. But the relation of the main secondary 
factors, such as the type of soil, soil moisture, stock-scion relations, 
and wood-maturity, to each other and to the primary cause, need 
investigation; and as a consequence proper preventive measures, 
based upon general principles cannot be formulated, but long ex- 
pensive tests must be made to determine these matters for each 
locality. 
A fuller account is found in Technical Bulletin 12. 
