148 T/I/H()!s State Lahordfoi-i/ of Xatural H>i<torij. 



istics oil Avhich so miicli reliance is now placed, so that in the 

 a1>sence of type specimens it is difficult or ini]>ossible to ascer- 

 tain to what species their names should Ije api)lied. Besides 

 this, what we now know to he different fcn-ms of ''fruit" of 

 the same s])ecies, were formerly re^^'arded as wholly distinct 

 plants belonging to widely separated genera: as each of these 

 forms received a name it how becomes necessary to choose one 

 from two, three, or even more, to designate the species and re- 

 duce the others to synonyms. In the case of the Uredinese thei'e 

 are in numerous species four spore-forms, now known as "te- 

 leutospores," " uredospores," " secidiospores," and " spermatia," 

 from which one must be selected as the mature or final "fruit,'' 

 <and its name taken for the species as a whole. But as no pro- 

 cess of fertilization has been discovered for any of these spore 

 productions, there is a difference of opinion among investigators 

 as to which ought to be considered this mature or final form. 

 Sachs, whose judgment must be highly respected, adopts the 

 ascidium stage as that most probably the result of some kind of 

 fertilization, while others, equally competent, believe the teleu- 

 tospores — as the name indicates — are the final and, if any, 

 the fertilized bodies. Sachs, therefore, inclines to call the com- 

 mon rust of wheat A^Jcidlinu (/raminis. instead of Pncchiia 

 gramivis^ the name used by all authorities uji to this time. 

 Winter, in his recent revision of Rabeiihorst's PiJzr (Fungi), 

 attempts to apply rigorously the law of priority of names to 

 whatever form of the species the first name M^as given, and 

 most naturalists making a specialty of any other department of 

 nature would doubtless commend his endeavor. But there are 

 very serious difficulties in the way. While we may accept as 

 proved that certain ^cidia are genetic forms of known Puc- 

 ciniae, in the great number of cases such relation is simply siip- 

 posfd to exist. Shall we revise our nomenclature on the basis 

 of a supposition ? In the writings of early mycologists the 

 descriptive characteristics following a name are often equally 

 applicable to several species as we now know them. In the 

 absence of herbarium types, shall we guess at the plant held in 

 hand when the description was drawn up? Not unfrequentlv 

 the oldest name is given to what was deemed a variety, and 

 later another name by another or the same author is adopted 



