4 SOME DISEASES OF CEREALS, 
The former may be prolonged to a length of over half an inch, or 
reduced, so that the anther is almost sessile. It may remain capil- 
lary, or become flattened and plumose, particularly at the base 
(e, g). The anther may remain unaltered on the modified fila- 
ment, or may be reduced (e), elongated (c), plumose (d), or, rarely, 
contorted, The whole stamen may be changed into a leafy struc- 
ture, colourless or brownish, narrow, with nearly straight sides, 
usually ciliate and sometimes with a transverse fringe, marking a 
division into a sheath-like and a blade-like portion (k, l, m, n). 
When thus flattened, the middle is often marked by a distinct 
vein (1). Sometimes the stamen appears as a brown, leathery, 
pointed body, with no differentiation into filament and anther, and 
almost circular in transverse section, thus becoming staminode- 
like. No increase in the number of stamens was observed. 
7. The main alteration takes place above the stamens. The 
central portion of the floret is usually prolonged in diseased ears 
intoa leafy shoot, consisting of reduced foliage leaves, much twisted 
or malformed (plate II, figs. 2, 3, plate III, fig. 2). This proli- 
fication occurs chiefly in the upper, perfect floret of the spikelet, but 
is accompanied usually by a similar, though less marked prolifica- 
tion of the lower, male or sterile floret. Sometimes the two are 
nearly equally affected. The maximum length observed in leaves 
thus axially produced within the stamens, was three inches, and 
the maximum breadth one quarter of an inch. Usually a 
well-marked division into sheath and blade occurs, the sheath 
being often more developed than the blade, which may be very 
imperfectly formed and much inrolled. The colour is either oreen 
or brown. A tendency to longitudinal shredding is often shown, 
a feature shared, as will be seen below, by the diseased normal 
leaves of affected plants. Longitudinal torsion occurs here also, 
and usually there is some degree of crinkling into longitudinal or 
transverse folds, particularly in the blade (plate II, fig. 2). 
In place of a simple axial leafy shoot, the centre of the floret 
may be occupied by a branched reduced shoot with simple, soft, 
brown elements, crowded together in minute buds (plate III, 
fig. 1). This conditionappears to be rare. An intermediate stage 
