— 3i — 



Nestler's Cryptogamce Rhenanse, the larger part of Rabenhorst's 

 Fungi Europaei, and Roumeguere's Fungi Galliei, the miscella- 

 neous collections belonging to the Department, and the writer's 

 private collection. 



The microscopes of the Botanical Department are available for 

 use when necessary, but the station itself owns three valuable in- 

 struments deposited in this department. It has also a considera- 

 ble quantity of glass-ware, and is furnished with a limited supply 

 of balances, vegetating, refrigerating, and spraj'ing apparatus for 

 carrying on investigations. 



Since the last Annual Report of the experiment station, the 

 cryptogamic work has been of a three-fold character. Investiga- 

 tions of certain specific plant diseases were carried through the 

 year ; a bulletin was published and contributions made to two 

 other bulletins ; and lastly, many fungi have been examined, 

 and the names, characteristics and treatment of the same were 

 furnished in the answers to correspondents sending specimens. 



In the absence of any assistant in either my botanical or station 

 work, I have gladly availed myself of the voluntary labors of 

 one student and one resident graduate trained in this University, 

 who desired experience in the biological study of fungi. The 

 progress of their work was daily reported to me. I was thus en- 

 abled to suggest from time to time the necessary variations from 

 the plan of investigation originally marked out for them ; and I 

 have only words of commendation for the earnestness of Miss 

 Howell in her work on the Clover Rust, published in part in 

 Bulletin XXIV, and of Miss Porter in the researches on the 

 Quince Blight, hot yet completed or published. While this can- 

 not take the place of permanent assistance, it would be well 

 never to lose sight of the mutual benefit of this relation between 

 the cryptogamic work and the training of those who may be able 

 to advance the interests of scientific investigation elsewhere. 



Of the work planned for the past year, that on the Clover 

 Rust needs no comment beyond reference to Bulletin XXIV. 

 The investigation of the blight of quince leaf and fruit pre- 

 sented unexpected difficulties. So far as known, the essential 

 character of the fungus and the disease it occasions, together 

 with drawings of the ordinary spores, were given in Bul- 

 letin XV. But its mode of passing the winter and of at- 

 tacking the quince in the spring, were quite unknown. Sev- 



