PORTO RICAN FUNGI. 127 



made an extensive collecting trip during the early part of 1900. The 

 determinations of their specimens, including seventeen new species, 

 were made hy Prof. F. S. Earle (19). Some time later the same 

 mycologist published additional notes on the same collection, for the 

 most part as new si)ecies (21). Professor Earle himself (20) made 

 a visit of exploration in 1903, giving most attention to fungi attack- 

 ing economic plants. 



Dr. G. P. Clinton, at the request of the Experiment Station, spent 

 some time on the Island in 1904, in connection with a threatened 

 outbreak of coffee rust, and collected some fungi, particularly thf^ 

 smuts. Prof. E. D. Holway collected rust fungi in about 1910. His 

 specimens are rciJortcd upon by Dr. Arthur (3), in connection with 

 the Stevens' collection. 



Fungi have been collected to some extent on the various field 

 expeditions of Dv. N. L. Briton, director-in-chief of the New York 

 Botanical Garden, and members of -liis staff. These specimens have 

 been described or mentioned in the publications of the mycologists 

 of the Garden. 



Dr. Bruce Fink of ^liaini University s]ient several months in 1915- 

 16 collecting in various parts of the Island, giving particular atten- 

 tion to the lichens and Ascomycetes, but lias as yet published only 

 a preliminary ]iaper(33). A report of his finding's should very 

 materially add to the number of known species. 



During tlie same year Dr. E. W. Olive of the Brooklyn Botanic 

 Garden, and Prof. H. H. Whetzel of Cornell University, made a very 

 complete collection of the rusts, together with some otlu'r fungi. The 

 rusts w<'re ^vorked over and reported by Dr. Arthur (4), and in part 

 by themselves (71). 



The most extensive fungus collections have been made by Dr. 

 F. L. Stevens, now of the University of Illinois. These specimens 

 were gathered during tlie period of his deanshij) of the College of 

 Agriculture of Porto Rico and during one subsequent trip (79). 

 The number of specimens obtained totaled several thousands. The 

 .rusts of this collection liavc been enumerated by Di-. Arthur (3), 

 and Dr. Stevens and several of his students have worked on other 

 groups (16, 17, 34, 51, 60, 61, 80, 81, 82, 83, 103. 104). Their studies 

 have resulted in a very large number of species being reported as 

 new, particularly in the genera Meliola, Cercospora, Phyllosticta, and 

 Mycosphnrrlla. 



An interesting phase of the subject of Porto Rican fungi, and 

 one of no little importance, is that of species connected with certain 

 human diseases. One article only has been seen treating of fungi 



