INVERTEBRATA, CRYPTOGAMIA, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 601 



followed out. The disease thus caused has only recently made its 

 appearance. 



Structure of Depazeacese. — Under this head M. Crie includes * 

 a section of Pyrenomycetes comprising the genera Diploch'a, Septoria, 

 Glceosporium, Sjphceropsis, Hendersonia, Phyllosttcta, Pestalozzia, Mor- 

 thiera, Depazea, and their allies, all of very minute size, which cause 

 the coloured spots on the leaves of many trees that contribute so 

 much to the autumn tints of foliage. The fungi described as Xyloma 

 and Edostroma, generally regarded as distinct organisms, but treated 

 by De Bary as merely pathological products of the leaves, M. Crie 

 considers to be stages in the development of other Depazeacefe. The 

 Depazeacefe are distinguished from other foliicolous Sphferiacea3 by the 

 thalloid spots which serve as a support to the rejiroductive organs. 

 Their first ajipearance is in the form of a simple black dot, in which 

 state they form the genus Edostroma. The reproductive organs are 

 spermogonia with their spermatia, pycnidia with theii' stylospores, 

 and perithecia with their asci and aseospores ; these do not present 

 anything especially dilferent in their structure from that of other 

 Sphferiacete. The spermatia of Depazea, Crie considers, along with 

 Berkeley and Cooke, to be not sexual organs of reproduction, but a 

 kind of non-sexual sj)ore less perfectly developed than the stylospores 

 or aseospores. He finds that they germinate only with difficulty, and 

 never produce a mycelium comparable to that which proceeds from the 

 other kinds of spores. The stylospores he found to germinate, after 

 they had been preserved in a herbarium for half a centiu-y, just as if 

 they were fresh gathered. 



Two New Vine-Parasites. — In the ' Archivio triennale del 

 Lavoratorio di Botanica Crittogamica di Pavia,' f Dr. Cattaneo describes 

 two new fungus-parasites on the vine which have made their appear- 

 ance in North Italy, Sphcerella fumaginia and PJioma haccce, the latter 

 closely allied to the P. uvicola which is so destructive to the vine in 

 America. The nearly ripe berries shrivel up and become more or 

 less strongly coated with a sweetish granular substance soluble in 

 water. The black conceptacles are formed inside the berry, and 

 finally burst the skin ; the spores are yellowish and unicellular. 



Conjugation of Swarmspores of Chroolepus. — Although this 

 phenomenon had not been observed during the careful investigation 

 of this alga by Frank, Wille claims to have detected it J in a few 

 instances in Trentepohlia umhrina (Chroolepus umhrinnm') growing on 

 the horse-chestnut. Of a very large number of swarmspores observed, 

 the immense majority disappeared without conjugating or becoming 

 invested with cellulose. In a very few instances conjugation was 

 detected, the swarmspores thus proving to be planogametes, in De 

 Bary and Strasburger's use of the term. In only one or two instances 

 was the subsequent investment with cellulose detected. The question 

 needs further investigation. 



* ' Ann. des Sci. Nat. (Bot.),' vii. (1878) p. .5. 



t See ' Bot. Zeit.,' xxxvii. (1879) p. 358. 



X ' Botaniska Notiser,' 1878, p. 165 ; see ' Bot. Zeit.,' xxxvii. (1879) p. 294. 



