90 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



tin}' revenue by the sale of the lefives, flowers, fruit and 

 stems of the plants. As a rule, the lotus is not regularl}'' 

 cultivated out here, but when it is, the method of sowing 

 the seeds is by enclosing them in bjdls of clav and throw- 

 ing them into the water. 



As a device, the lotus enters into all the ornaments of 

 brass vessels used in Hindu temples, doubtless chiefly be- 

 cause it is considered the first attribute of Vishnu and is 

 sacred to other deities of the Hindu pantheon, and partly 

 too because of its own beauty which is so highly admitted 

 that the flower is looked upon as emblematical of iemale 

 loveliness. The Egyptian lotus is believed to have found 

 its w^ay from India to the land of the Pyramids and the 

 sacred scarab. — Indian Gardening: 



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Wanted. — Short notes of interest to the general bot- 

 anist are always in demand for this department. Our 

 readers are invited to make this the place of publication 

 for their botanical items. 



How Fungi Became Parasites.— A great number of 

 fungi are saproph^^tes, that is, the}- live upon decaying 

 plant and animal substances; but many others are para- 

 sites, taking up their abode in the tissues of a living host. 

 The various rusts are among the most destmctive of 

 parasites, but curiously enough each rust has its own 

 special host to grow upon, and cannot grow upon others. 

 If placed on a moist leaf of some other plant the spores of 

 the rust germinate but the haustoria seem incapable of 

 penetrating the leaf. Recent experiments seem to point 

 to the presence of repellent substances in the cell sap as the 

 cause of the non-development of the rust. In many cases 

 this deterrent element is malic acid. Saproph3^tic fungi 

 maybe educated to become parasites by sowing the spores 

 on living leaves and then infecting the tissues ol the latter 

 with substances favorable to the growth of the fungi. 



