114 Rpeort oF THE BOTANIST OF THE 
to it as the cause. Whenever a portion of a cane was killed it 
was easy to locate the seat of the trouble in a short section of 
the cane at the base of the wilted portion. At this point the 
cane was dead and discolored, and microscopic examination in- 
variably revealed the presence of the Coniothyrium in abundance. 
By the time the leaves were fully wilted, and oftentimes earlier, 
the Coniothyrium could be depended upon to show its pyenidia 
filled with multitudes of ripe spores. In many cases the spores 
were expelled from the pycnidia and formed brownish: or slate- 
colored patches on the dead bark. Sometimes large portions 
of the dead and dying canes would be smutty with masses of the 
exuded spores. 
While divers other fungi were frequently associated with the 
Coniothyrium on diseased canes, no fungus except Coniothyrium 
was constantly present. Not only was Coniothyrium always 
found on diseased canes, but it was always absent from perfectly 
healthy ones; and whenever the pycnidia of Coniothyrium were 
found the bark was dead and the wood underneath discolored. 
IDENTITY OF THE FUNGUS. 
In our first published account? of cane blight the causal fungus 
was referred to the genus Phoma. This was manifestly an error 
inasmuch as the spores have a decidedly brownish tinge. The 
genera Phoma and Coniothyriwm differ only in the color of the 
spores, the former having hyaline spores and the latter colored 
spores. Seen singly, the spores of the cane blight fungus have 
a slightly brownish tinge and in mass the brown color becomes 
pronounced. It is plain that the fungus belongs to the genus 
Coniothyrium rather than to Phoma. This correction has already 
been made in Bulletin 191 of this Station, page 330. 
Although the writers are not yet prepared to make a positive 
statement as to the specific name of the fungus it seems probable 
that it is Coniothyrium fuckelii Sace. According to Saccardo, 
O.. fuckelii occurs on the bark of dead and dying branches of 
Rubus, Ampelopsis, Tecoma, Rosa, Robinia, Berberis and Helian- 
themum, and on the leaves of Citrus. On these different hosts the 
2Bul. 167 of this Station, pp. 305-307. 
3Saccardo, P. A. Syll. Fung. 3:306. 
