ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC 213 



beyond the conidial form. He records the finding of sexual character- 

 istics in Mucor racemosus. 



Plant Diseases. — F. J. Chittenden * records a disease of Lavatera 

 trimestris caused by Golletotrichum malvarum. The first symptom is the 

 appearance of small yellowish-brown spots on the upper surface of the 

 leaves, stalks, and stems. The spots gradually extend owing to the 

 spread of the mycelium, and the tissue dies off. 



A disease of Antirrhinum is also reported due to an allied fungus 

 Septoria Antirrhini. This also begins with yellowish leaf spots. Both 

 of these fungi are particularly fatal on the stems of the plants, as they 

 spread all round and quickly kill the host. Spraying with Bordeaux 

 mixture is recommended in both cases. 



R. Lucks f records a fungus w T hich he found infesting the outer 

 sheath of earth-nuts. He was led to examine these carefully, as cattle, 

 etc., fed on nut-meal were often unwilling to eat it and not infrequently 

 appeared to suffer from poisoning after partaking of the nut-meal. 

 Lucks found a minute fungus, which he names Goniothecium arachnideum, 

 infesting the sheaths of the nuts, especially on the inner side. He made 

 a large series of cultures on various media and under different conditions 

 of temperature, and gives a full account of all his culture experiments. 



T. H. Middleton % contributes a report on destructive insects and 

 pests. The fungal diseases are chiefly cases of potato-wart disease, due 

 to Chrysophlyctis endobiotica, and the American gooseberry mildew ; for 

 both of these destructive diseases he suggests remedies, and instructs 

 growers how to deal with the pests. 



In the same Journal § information is given as to the control of plant 

 diseases in Germany. There are twenty-seven principal stations through- 

 out the country for dealing with pests. The most common diseases dealt 

 with during the year were the potato-wart disease, American gooseberry 

 mildew, and a root disease of wheat caused by a fungus Ophiobolus 

 herpotrichus. 



A stem and root disease of Viola tricolor has been determined by 

 F. A. Wolf [| to be due to Fusarium Violse sp. n. The plants die off 

 quickly, and show a dark slightly sunken area on the stem, just at the 

 surface of the ground. The root system is almost entirely destroyed. 

 Precautions should be taken not to fertilise with barn-yard manure im- 

 mediately before planting, as that seems to encourage if not to cause the 

 disease. 



A number of parasitic microfungi were noted by D. Cruchet^T in the 

 valley of Tourtemagne during an excursion of the Societe Murithienne. 

 He found Cintractia Garicis on three species of Gctrex, and a Pyreno- 

 mycete on Liliaceas ; several parasitic Sphaeropsidese were also noted. 



Gr. Kdck ** describes three very troublesome fungus diseases, Pseudo- 

 peronospora cubensis — which attacks cucumber-plants and is wide-spread 



* Journ. R. Hort. Soc, xxxv. (1909) pp. 213-17 (2 figs.), 

 t Centralbl. Bakt., xxiii. (1909) pp. 642-55 (3 pis.). 

 X Journ. Board Agric, xvi. (1910) pp. 845-8. 



§ Tom. cit., pp. 848-9. || Mycologia, ii. (1910) pp. 19-21 (1 pi.). 



1 Arch. Sci. Phys. Nat. Geneve, xxviii. (1909) pp. 190-2. 



** Verh. k.k. Zool. bot. Ges. Wien, lix. (1909) pp. 48-57. See also Centralbl. 

 Bakt., xxv. (1909) pp. 519-20. 



