234 MR. A. BARCLAY ON THE LIFE-HISTORY 
and in India, so far as I am yet acquainted with the facts. Mr. Н. L. Bolley writes 
that Puccinia Rubigo-vera is undoubtedly the most prevalent form of rust on wheat in 
Indiana, but there an ecidium occurs on Cynoglossum officinale *. In India there is no 
doubt that P. Rubigo-vera is also the most common (and very abundant) cause of rust 
on wheat and barley; but here no æcidium is known on any Borage. I asked my friend 
Dr. D. Prain, of the Royal Botanic Garden, Caleutta, to look through the whole collec- 
tion of Boraginee in the Herbarium there, as I thought that in so large a collection 
some specimens might be found attacked by an ecidium. This he most kindly did, and 
wrote as follows :—“ I have gone over the whole of the Order carefully at two different 
times, and I cannot find a suspicious-looking specimen in any of the herbaceous species.” 
Even in Simla, as І have elsewhere t pointed out, where a Barberry æcidium is common, 
I have never seen P. Graminis on any cereal crop, whilst P. Rubigo-vera is very 
abundant and destructive ; and despite the most careful search I have never yet suc- 
ceeded in finding an æcidium on any species of the Boraginee. It would exceed the 
limits of this paper were I to enter more fully into this side issue of my subject; but I 
will add that, whilst I have never found P. Graminis on any cereal crop here, I have 
found a teleutospore resembling P. Graminis on a wild grass, probably Brachypodium 
distachyum, Roem. & Schult., and have artificially reproduced the spermogonial stage of 
an æcidium on Berberis Lycium, Royle, with it. But my investigations into this matter 
are still incomplete. I have several times applied the sporidia of P. coronata, especially 
from Piptatherum and Festuca, to the leaves of Berberis Lycium and В. aristata, DC., 
but without result. 
Before concluding I would draw attention to the remarkably long retained vitality of 
some uredospores in this region. I have noted above the power of ready germination 
of the uredospores from Piptatherum four and a half months after keeping. This is, 
however, by no means an isolated case. I first drew attention to this peculiarity in 
my “ Descriptive List of the Simla Uredinee,” in describing Puccinia Galii, Pers., 
when І wrote :—“ A curious feature about these uredospores is the comparatively long 
time they retained their vitality. Іп a cultivation of teleutospores from material 
collected in October, and set in water on the 26th March following, all the uredospores 
present, of which there were several, germinated in 24 hours, whilst the teleutospores 
remained in statu quo” t. Since then I have observed the same thing in the following 
species :— 
1. Uredo Bupleuri, mihi, collected 2nd October, germinated 14th June, 4. е. 8 months. 
and 12 days after. : | 
2. Uredo Gomphrenatis, mihi, collected 7th November, germinated freely 14th June, 
4. e. 7 months and 7 days after. | 
3. Puccinia Prenanthis, Pers., collected 31st October, germinated (a few) 14th June, 
i. e. Т months and 6 days after. 
* Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Indiana (Purdue University), * Wheat Rust," July 1889. 
* Journal of the Royal Agrieultural Society, London. 
+ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. lviii, pt. ii. No. 2 (1889). 
