214 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



have been described, to my knowledge, along with the first mentioned 

 spores. They almost surely point to another form of spoies borne in sacks 

 i^asci), which, so far, have not been found, and it is here strongly suspected 

 that all these three belong to the same parasitic plant. In that case, the 

 former will be denominated siylospores, the second minute moving bodies 

 spermatia, and the third, now only surmised, ascospores. The first and 

 third are reproductive germs. The second have usually been thought by 

 botanists to be connected in some way with the process of fertilization, 

 but have recently been seen to germinate, thus, probably, throwing them 

 into the same category of the others. With such modes of reproduction, 

 no wonder the parasites thrive on every accessible leaf. Curiously enough, 

 the very nearly related Scotch pine iPinus sylvestris), though growing by 

 the side of a diseased Austrian, is not injured. It is quite possible that 

 the spores only escape from old leaves after falling, and that this is the 

 cause of the lower parts of the tree suffering first. If so, an easy remedy 

 is suggested : gathering and burning the old leaves. As these, in 

 the case of the pines, do not become much scattered by the winds, it 

 would be possible to do this. But the whole matter demands further 

 investigation. 



Towards autumn, the leaves of the common rose presented, in very 

 many instances, a brown, sickly appearance, after falling, leaving the stem 

 naked weeks before this should have occurred. Upon examination with 

 a pocket-magnifier, minute black specks were observed, and a higher mag- 

 nifier revealed the presence of another very pretty miscroscopical object, 

 known in the books as Phragmidium mucronattim, Lk. or Rose brand. 

 At an earlier season, no doubt, these same leaves had small r<?//(C7£/ spots, 

 instead of the black ones spoken of, for this parasite, also, has two forms 

 of " fruit." The first and earliest is composed of minute, oval, smooth, 

 orange-colored bodies, in great numbers, rising from mycelium threads 

 which imbed themselves in the tissues of the leaf, and by this growth 

 rupture the epidermis and are dispersed. From the same threads and in 

 the same pustules the dark-colored very different spores first mentioned 

 appear in September. If those from the Austrian pine may be compared 

 to an ordinary base-ball "bat," these may be called Indian war clubs. 

 The handle part is nearly two thirds the entire length, is almost transpar- 

 ent, very much swollen below, and having in the center of this enlarged 

 part a golden line, perhaps we might say "pith." This handle bears 

 above a portion two or three times its own diameter, quite black, covered 

 with prickly warts, and divided transversely into seven to eleven segments, 

 each of which is quite distinct. At the upper end is a short, blunt, hya- 

 line appendage. There is scarcely a doubt but that these last described 

 spores {pseudospores) exist unchanged over winter and germinate in the 

 spring. I do not know whether they immediately affect rose leaves again, 

 or whether, as in so many instances, a species of alternate generations 

 exists, a crop of spores in spring being produced upon some other plant. 

 One thing deserves mention. In Europe these spores are said to have 

 only from five to seven cross partitions, while ours have, as stated, seven to 



