191 



more or less regular pattern. Sucli wounds are not very notice- 

 able at first, but as the fruit increases in size the wounds are torn 

 wider apart and periderm is formed along the edges of each wound, 

 so that by the time the fruit has reached its full size, each 

 individual scratch is clearly outlined by a raised ridge of whitish 

 periderm. The above is what happens if no fungus appears on 

 the scene, but as a rule the wounds while quite newly made are 

 invaded by the spores of some facultative parasite, most frequently 

 Botrytis or Cladosporium. In this case the original source of 

 injury is soon obliterated, and a soft rot follows. 



The leaves of gooseberries are frequently scratched by t4ie spines 

 on neighbouring branches, the sign that wind has been the active 

 agent is indicated by the parallel rows of scars, w^hich become 

 clearly outlined by whitish periderm. 



Holly leaves often suffer from the effects of wind, becoming 

 wounded by the spines on the leaves of a neighbouring branch. 

 When actual perforations are made, the injury is usually 

 attributed to some insect. When the leaves are only slightly 

 punctured, the wound often forms a starting j^oint for one of the 

 many micro-fungi attacking leaves, or a growth of periderm gives 

 the leaf a spotted aj^pearance. 



The opportunities described above for saprophytic fungi having 

 a tendency to become parasites, must necessarily be repeated in a 

 wholesale manner in nature. In the majority of instances the 

 opportunity is not of sufficiently long duration to enable the 

 fungus to become an obligate parasite, which only means that a 

 fungus has fed for so long a time on food supplied by one special 

 kind of host-plant, that it cannot change, without undergoing at 

 least very great inconvenience to itself, or if it has become rigid, 

 cannot change under any circumstances. For this reason the 

 evolution from saprophytic to parasitic fungi is not rapid, due 

 simply to lack of opportunity, at the same time it cannot be 

 doubted that a certain amount of headway is made in this 

 direction, and the 2:)rimary factor rendering jiossible such progress 

 may be of a very trivial nature in itself. 



XXXIV.— MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



Mh. F. Glover. — Mr. F. Glover, a member 



staff of the Boyal Botanic Gardens, lias been appointed, on the 

 recommendation of Kew, a Sub-Inspector for the purposes of the 

 Destructive^Insects and Pests Acts under the Board of Agriculture 



and Fisheries. 



Mr. W. N". Evans. — Mr. W. JN". Evans, a member of the garden- 

 ino- staff of the Eoyal Botanic Gardens, has been appointed, on 

 the recommendation of Kew, a Sub-Inspector for the purposes of 

 the Destructive Insects and Pests Acts under the Board of 

 Agriculture and Fisheries. • 



