'224 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



■winter ; in Bpring they germinate and produce sporidia, just at the time 

 when earth-currents are being generated by increased temperature. 

 They are wafted to any height or distance, fall on the upper surface of 

 the leaves, and the germinating tuhe pierces the cuticle of the young 

 leaf. The later spore forms are dispersed by the wind. 



Falck returns to the Basidiomycetes to examine the signification of 

 the various forms. He finds that pores, gills, folds, etc., are all 

 adaptations to secure a greater hymeneal surface and an increased spore- 

 production. The pileus, as already noted, serves for the evolution of 

 heat and the formation of air-currents. He concludes by some accounts 

 of spore dissemination in the Phycomycetes and the Ascomycetes, and 

 discusses the economic value of fungi in regard to Nature and to man. 



Two New Pests of the Vine in Hungary.* — Gv. de Istvanffi finds 

 that Tthy phallus impudicus attacks the underground stock of the vine 

 and destroys it. The mycelium infects first the soft bast and the cortical 

 parenchyma ; it then penetrates through the medullary rays to the wood 

 and destroys them, until only a skeleton of the wood vessels is left. The 

 other dealt with is an animal pest, C&pophagus pchinopus. 



Practical Notes on the Beet Disease.! — A. Guttman traces the 

 origin of this disease to Phoma Betcc The seeds of the beet are already 

 infected with the spores of the fungus, and circumstances determine if 

 the young beet plant is able to throw off the attack. Weather, soil 

 composition, and conditions of the beet plant are all important factors. 

 Stormy weather and poor soil weaken the plant and encourage the 

 growth of the fungus. The author recommends somewhat late sowing 

 of the seed and thorough cultivation of the soil. Treatment of the seeds 

 with some fungicide has been recommended, but has not proved advan- 

 tageous. 



Canker of Fruit Trees.* — Rudolf Goethe holds that canker is due 

 to the attack of the fungus Nectria ditissima, and not to bacteria, nor 

 to the action of frost. In regard to the latter cause, he points out that 

 with a frost wound there is no thickening and swelling of the tissue as 

 there is in true canker. He describes the different kinds of canker, the 

 kinds of trees that are liable to be attacked, and the conditions that 

 favour the disease. He also recommends methods of extirpation and 

 prevention. 



Fungal Parasites of the Tea Plant.§ — X. N. Speschnew is the 

 author of a monograph on this subject, the first of a series dealing with 

 the diseases of cultivated plants in Transcaucasia. He describes the 

 fungi that cause disease, many of the species being new, and he advises 

 as to the best methods for extirpating them. 



* Ann. Inst. Centr. Ampelog. roy. Hongr., iii. Livr. I, Budapest, 1904, viii. and 

 55 pp. (3 pis.) See also Bot. Zeit., lxiii. (1905) pp. 28-9. 



t Deutsche Landw. Presse, 1904, p. 04. See also Centralbl. Bakt., xiii. (1904) 

 p. 660. 



J Ueber den Krebs der Obstbaume, P. Parey (Berlin, 1904) 34 pp. See also 

 Centralbl. Hakt., xiii. (1904) pp. 662-3. 



§ S.A. atis den Arbeiten Bot. Gart. Tiflis. ii. Lief. vi. Heft 3 (Tiflis. 1904) S:i pp. 

 4 col. pis. (Russian.) See also Bot. Centralbl., xcviii. (1905) pp. 40-1. 



