New YorkK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 103 
geranium, oak, onion, pine, potato and turnip. In all of the 
above the fungus is primarily a root parasite, and it will be 
seen that it occurs upon fleshy, herbaceous and woody roots. 
RHIZOCTONIA IN AMERICA. 
(Historical.) 
Neglecting for the present any such mentions of Rhizoctonia 
as have been made in “ Lists of Fungi,” or even brief technical 
descriptions of new forms, we find in American literature very 
little concerning Rhizoctonia. In 1891 Pammel' published some 
notes on beet diseases, and a beet root-rot was described which 
he considered due to Rhizoctonia bete Kiihn,? this fungus hav- 
ing been mentioned by Kitihn, Eidam and others as an important 
beet disease in Gerinany. 
In 1892 Atkinson’ found in Alabama a sterile fungus causing 
a damping-off of cotton, also called “sore shin.” Later he 
found and described a similar fungus in connection with the 
damping-off of various seedlings under glass at Ithaca. 
The above are the chief economic references to the occurrence 
of Rhizoctonia in America until the appearance of Bulletin 163° 
of the Cornell Experiment Station. In December, 1898, the 
writers presented a paper on Rhizoctonia to the Society for Plant 
Morphology and Physiology at its meeting in New York City. 
This paper, which was entitled “Different Types of Plant 
Diseases due to a Common Rhizoctonia,” was published only in 
abstract.6 During the past year Stone and Smith’ have published 
an account of lettuce Rhizoctonia and some experiments on its 
1Pammel, L. H. Bulletin 15. Iowa Agl. Exp. Sta., 1891. 
?7Kihn, J.—l.c. 
* Atkinson, Geo. F. Some Diseases of Cotton. Bulletin 41, Ala. Agl. 
Exp. Sta., 1892, pp. 30-89. 
*Atkinson, Geo. F. Damping off. Bulletin 94, Cornell Univ. Agl. Exp. 
Sta., 1895, pp. 389-342, 
‘Duggar, B. M. Three Important Fungous Diseases of the Sugar Beet. 
(See pp. 389-352.) 
*See Bot. Gaz., 27: 129. 
“TStone, G. E., and Smith, R. BE. The Rotting of Greenhouse Lettuce. 
Mass. Exp. Sta., Bul. 69. 
