398 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION D. 



truly indigenous to Queensland. It does not seem partial in 

 its wild state to any particular genus or species of grass, but, 

 so far as my observations go, it would seem to be only abun- 

 dant on grass where water has become stagnant and soured 

 the land. This should point to the desirability of having all 

 cultivated land well drained and thus aerified and sweetened. 

 The cereal crops suffer more from this fungus than from any 

 other, and hitherto no remedy has been found to check its 

 ravages. The reason why Queensland suffers more from 

 this pest than other parts may probably be due to the great 

 variability of her climate. In years like the last, with a 

 continual fall of rain during the winter, the cereals have had 

 the opportunity of making a gradual and steady growth, and 

 thus becoming strong enough to resist to a greater degree 

 the ravages of rust, and we find the past season's crop to 

 have proved better than usual. It should be borne in mind 

 that as a rule in Queensland the winters are dry and the 

 summers wet, which is most certainly not favourable to the 

 growth of the European varieties of cereals, and it is my 

 opinion that if the Queensland farmer is ever to be a suc- 

 cessful cultivator of wheat and allied cereals, he must select 

 for cultivation only those varieties of the various grains upon 

 which the rust parasite does not thrive, and for these kinds 

 he must not look to Europe or America, but rather to the 

 parts of India where the climate in most respects resembles 

 that of Queensland. P. helianthi, Schwein — This pest, 

 which destroys the fohage of plants of " Sunflower " both in 

 America and Europe, made its appearance a few years ago 

 on plants of this genus I/elianthus, at Ipswich, and since 

 then has been too abundant also about Brisbane. P. mal- 

 VACIARUM, Mont. — A pest to Malvaceous plants in Europe ; 

 last year destroyed the leaves of " Hollyhocks" in a garden 

 at Toowoomba. P. rumicis, Lasch., may frequently be seen 

 on the leaves of " Docks " near Brisbane. 



R(ESTELiA POLiTA, B. and Br. — This curious fungus at 

 times deforms the shoots of " Dogwood," Jaclisonia scoparia, 

 but is of rare occurence. 



RoBiLLARDA SESSILI8, Sacc. — In Europe this is said to be 

 met with on species of Ruhus. In Queensland it has been 

 found on vine leaves. 



Rhytisma filicinum, B. and Br. — This, which may so 

 frequently be seen spotting the fronds of ferns in Queens- 

 land, was first detected on a species of Alsophila at Ceylon. 

 When first discovered in Queensland it was on the fronds of 



