ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 207 



Distribution of Plant Diseases.* — P. Hennings learns from various 

 correspondents that the fungus Sphccrotheca mors-uvm is very prevalent 

 in the Government of Moskau, and that in Riga the whole crop has 

 been ruined by it. He warns cultivators against the appearance of the 

 fungus and advises instant burning of any bushes attacked. 



Gr. Linhart f contributes a note on the occurrence of Gloeosporium 

 caulivorum, which is to be found on red clover in many districts 

 in Germany. He considers that the spores are distributed with the 

 clover seed, and he recommends washing clover seed with copper sul- 

 phate. Lucerne is not subject to attack by this fungus. 



Allescherina and Cryptovalsa.} — Michelc Abbado has published a 

 monograph of these two genera, both of the Valsa type and both with 

 polysporous asci. Under Allescherina, a genus recently created by 

 Berlese, he places those species that have scattered perithecia, while he 

 includes in Cryptovalsa those forms that have the perithecia closely 

 grouped and where the ostioles emerge together from the matrix. This 

 revision has necessitated a considerable rearranging of species. The 

 spores of both genera are coloured and rather large. 



Claviceps purpurea. s — C. Engelke has made a series of observations 

 on the development of this fungus. He obtained pure cultures from 

 the ejected spores of the perithecia, and he found in the perithecia club- 

 shaped paraphyses. Infection of the rye floret takes place only before 

 fertilisation. The spores alight on the stigma and germinate there, and 

 the mycelium then bores its way down to the ovary. The formation of 

 the sclerotium thus begins at the base. The irritation caused by the 

 presence of the fungus induces the production of honey-dew by the 

 stigma. The fungus itself does not form the honey-dew as has been 

 supposed. The author still continues his cultures and researches on 

 this fungus. 



New Hypomyces.|| — P. Baccarini describes the fungi he found grow- 

 ing on a dead plant of Areca madagascariensis in. the botanical gardens 

 at Florence. He made careful cultures of the spores and succeeded in 

 tracing the entire life-history of the fungus in question. The asco- 

 phorous stage was a golden-yellow Hypomyces which he named H. aureus ; 

 the conidial stage was a Verticillium with simple, elliptical conidia. A 

 resting-stage of the fungus was also formed, a small yellow sclerotium. 



Another species of the same fungus was also cultivated, H. conviva 

 sp. n., but only the conidial stages were present ; these were a form of 

 Coremium and of Myeogone. 



Study of Related Forms. f — H. Klebahn finds that the perfect form 

 of Phleospora Ulmi is a species of Mycosplwrella which he describes 

 as M. Ulmi. A similar research as to Gloeosporium nervisequum which 

 grows on the leaves of Platanus orientalis enabled him to connect that 

 fungus with the pyrenomycete Lcestadia Veneta. In the latter case he 



* Zeitschr. f. Pflanzenkr., xii. (1902) pp. 278-9. 

 t Tom. cit., pp. 281-2. J Malpighia, xvi. (1902) pp. 291-330. 



§ Hedwigia, Beibl., xli. (1902) pp. 221-2. 

 || App. at Nuovo Giorn. Bot. Ital., ix. (1902) pp. 483-98. 

 i Zeitschr. f. Pflanzenkr., xii. (1902) pp. 257-8. 



