. 110 REPORT OF THE BOTANIST OF THE 
tion is given on page 128, where a full discussion of the subject 
will be found. — 
By careless persons cane blight is often mistaken for the work 
of the raspberry cane borer, Oberea bimaculata; but the absence 
_ of any insect burrow within the affected canes is conclusive proof 
that the trouble is not caused by a borer. Moreover, according 
to our observations, the raspberry cane borer is not common in 
New York. During the four years in which cane blight has 
been under investigation we have examined many plantations in 
various parts of the State and have only occasionally found the 
cane borer. 
Cane blight has also been mistaken for the effect of drought 
and winter injury. While drought at fruiting time may aggra- 
vate cane blight it is certainly not the cause. Raspberries injured 
by drought dry up slowly and with considerable uniformity ; 
whereas plants affected with cane blight die suddenly and a por- 
tion of the cane may be wholly dead while the remainder is as 
luxuriant as ever. In general, cane blight differs from winter 
injury in that canes injured by winter do not put out leaves on 
the injured portion, while plants attacked by cane blight may put 
out leaves normally and flourish until the fruit is nearly ripe, 
then suddenly die. However, it sometimes happens that canes 
severely attacked by cane blight during the first season of their 
erowth are particularly susceptible to winter injury and do not 
put out leaves the following spring. 
DAMAGE DONE AND VARIETIES AFFECTED. 
In New York cane blight is so common that it is difficult to 
find a raspberry plantation wholly free from it, and yet it is prob- 
able that in a majority of the plantations the damage done by 
it is inappreciable. The loss of an entire crop because of cane 
blight is rare; but in many cases the loss has been as much as 
one-fourth to one-half of the crop, and occasionally as much as 
two-thirds. In the aggregate the loss from raspberry cane blight 
in New York must be enormous. Every season the Station 
receives numerous inquiries concerning the cause of cane blight 
and means of preventing its ravages. There is a widespread 
interest in the disease among growers of raspberries. — 
