has
received various other names, such as "consumption," "humid gangrene,"
etc. Professor Comes,[B] who has studied this disease in Italy, believes
it to be the same as the "humid gangrene" which occurs in Germany, and
which is there attributed to the parasitic attack of the fungus known as
_Pleospora Napi_. He finds this and other fungi present, but does not
himself consider them the direct cause of the disease, which he
attributes solely to the abundance of manure and moisture in the soil,
and an excess of water in the plant, at a time when it is subject to
sudden changes of temperature. Beyond a doubt, however, the real cause
of the disease is the presence of one or more fungi, whose development
is favored by the damp weather. The subject requires further study.

In this country this disease has been reported from Michigan, New York,
Maryland and Florida. On Long Island, in 1889,[C] the cauliflower crop
was almost entirely destroyed by this disease, which was attributed to
the heavy rains at the time the plants were heading. Some fields were a
total loss, and from the best fields many of the heads spoiled before
they reached the market.

No satisfactory remedy is known for the disease. The avoidance of damp
soils and locations would be of some benefit, but is hardly practicable
with the cauliflower. Wide planting is practiced on Long Island in order
to diminish the tendency to the disease. It undoubtedly has this effect
to some extent, by permitting a more free circulation of the air, thus
drying up the moisture on the plants and thereby lessening the
opportunity for the germination of the spores. The increased distance
may also diminish the chance of the spread of the spores from plant to
plant. When this disease appears upon the early crop in hot-beds or cold
frames it may be kept somewhat in check by giving as much air as
possible, and taking care not to apply water to the leaves.

DAMPING OFF.--This is usually due to a species of Pythium (a
fungus closely related to that which causes the potato rot), which
attacks the young plants soon after they germinate. The remedy is, to
give the plants plenty of air until their stems become strong enough to
resist its attacks. An additional precaution sometimes employed is to
grow the plants in pans or small boxes and water them only by setting
these in a tank of water of nearly the same depth, allowing the water to
soak into the soil, but not touch the plants. The diseas