THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 117 



Maize Rust. — Wherever Indian corn is grown it is 

 likely to be infested with a rust called the corn or maize 

 rust {Puccinia sorghi). In the case of other rusts several 

 phases of the plant are known and not infrequently these 

 different phases are on different plants. Until the present 

 season the accidium stage of the corn rust has never been 

 seen, and it was conjectured that either this species had 

 dropped this stage from its life cycle or the aecidia were to 

 be found only in the region over which corn once grew 

 wild. All this however, has been changed by Dr. J. C. 

 Arthur's discovery that a rare aecidium on the common 

 yellow oxalis belongs to the con;i rust. Spores of this 

 aecidium brought in contact with 3'oung corn produced 

 the corn rust within a week. 



Violet Hybrids. — When rash species makers, a few 

 3^ears ago, began to describe as new species every striking 

 form they encountered, there were conservative botanists 

 who suggested the • possibility that many of these 

 "species" might be forms or even hybrids. Among them 

 President Ezra Brainerd has been slowly accumulating 

 evidence in support of this view and in the November 

 Rhodora shows that many New England violets have 

 characters that indicate that they are hybrids. Apparent 

 hybrids between nearly all the blue violets of New Eng- 

 land have been found. Incidentally V. Porteriana and 

 V. melisssefolia are now believed to be hybrids. The 

 evidence thus far presented is suggestive but not conclu- 

 sive. The reputed hybrids have characters suggestive 

 of each of their supposed parents but this does not neces- 

 sarily make them hybrids. It is surprising, however, 

 in view of the fact that the whole problem can be easily 

 settled by the simple process of hybridizing these plants, 

 that anyone should resort to such circumstantial evid- 

 ence as v^ild plants possess. Why not hybridize all the 

 species and await results ? 



