New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 425 
CANE BLIGHT. 
Description.— This disease is characterized by wilting of the 
foliage and dying of the canes. Healthy and diseased canes com- 
monly occur in the same hill. The disease may appear at any 
time during the growing season, but it is most virulent about the 
time the fruit is ripening. It appears that there are two forms of 
cane blight. The form occurring in the Hudson Valley* is caused 
by a sterile fungus which works in the pith and under the bark. 
In the western part of the State there occurs a currant cane blight 
which, according to Durand,” is caused by the semi-parasitic fun- 
gus, Nectria cinnabarina (Tode.) Fr. 
Treatment.— Probably the most practical method of fighting 
cane blight is to go over the plantation at frequent intervals dur- 
ing the summer and cut out and burn the affected canes. In doing 
this, care must be taken to cut well below the lowest point of the 
disease. After cutting into diseased wood the pruning knife 
should be disinfected before it is used on healthy wood. A 5 per 
et. solution of carbolic acid is a good disinfectant for this purpose. 
Cuttings should be taken only from plants known to be healthy. 
CURRANT INSECTS. 
PLANT LICE. 
The first indications that the plant lice are at work are the small 
bladder-like galls on the upper surfaces of the leaves. The galls 
soon turn red, increase in size and may finally include nearly the 
entire leaf. The lice congregate in large numbers in the corres- 
ponding pockets on the under sides of the leaves. Several species 
work on the currant, but the most common is the currant plant 
louse, Myzus ribis Linn. 
Treatment.— The infested bushes should be sprayed with a solu- 
tion of whale oil soap, one pound to seven gallons of water. The 
23 For an account of current cane blight in the Hudson Valley, see Bul. 
167 of this Station, p. 291. 
24 Durand, E. J. A Disease of Currant-Canes. Cornell Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta. 
Bul. 125, 
