200 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Sclerotinia Libertiana. It was found that the ascospores could not 

 directly infect the living tissue : they germinated on the withering flower- 

 petals, and infection always took place just as the flower decayed. 



Underground Fungi in Hungary.* — L. Hollos has unearthed quite 

 a number of truffles and other underground fungi in the " Pester 

 Comitat." It is a dry region, peculiarly poor in fungi, where only 

 evanescent forms, such as Coprinus, or those that could withstand 

 drought, like Lycopedineas, were to be found. There is not much wooded 

 land, and the trees are chiefly oaks, with a few poplars ; the age of the 

 trees was from 20-25 years. Hollos made use of a sow to determine 

 the localities where truffles were to be sought. They grew at the 

 edge of the wood, or in some light place. Fourteen species are re- 

 corded, two of them only known from France, and one, Elaphomyces 

 rubescens, only from Hesse-Nassau. 



Life-History of Hypocrea alutacea.j — This fungus has generally 

 been regarded as a parasite on species of Clavaria or Spathularia, 

 the mature form being very much like either of these fungi. Gr. F. 

 Atkinson has now made cultures of the fungus on slices of Lactarius, 

 and has proved that it is an autonomous species saprophytic on various 

 substances. Other species of Hypocrea form low cushions or incrus- 

 tations in which the perithecia are imbedded, and Atkinson considers 

 that the genus Podostroma Karst., founded on a species, P. leucopus, 

 that grew on a decaying insect, should be revived. The description 

 given by Karsten fits exactly the species H. alutacea, the only dif- 

 ference being that of habitat ; it is therefore proposed to name the 

 plant Podostroma alutacea. Atkinson includes under the species 

 Karsten's P. leucopus, and also Hypocrea Lloydii, recently described by 

 Bresadola, but not differing materially from P. alutacea. 



Aspergillus bronchialis.J — Fritz Blumentrett describes this fungus, 

 discovered by him. He compares it with A. fumigatus, and gives an 

 account of the various cultures of each species on potato, sugar, alkaline 

 and acid substrata, gelatin, and on moist rice. Detailed accounts of the 

 growth of the fungi are tabulated. 



Hyphomycete Parasitic on the Vine.§ — L. Gabboto describes 

 tubercles on vine branches caused by the presence of the fungus Pionnotes 

 Cesatii. Incidentally, he remarks that he found no trace of the lichen- 

 characters ascribed to the plant by Briosi and Farneti. Pionnotes 

 forms a thin red crust on the branches, and conidia are produced at 

 the tips of the branching hyphas. The mycelium penetrates the tissue 

 of the vine, resulting in hypertrophy and deformation of the infected 

 parts, and causing much damage to the vines. Advice is given as to 

 the best means of checking the disease. 



Disease of Pear-Trees.|| — Rodolfo Farneti states that some varieties 

 of pears are almost constantly more or less covered with brown spots, 



* Math. Naturwiss. Ber. Ungarn., xx. (1905) pp. 307-11. 

 t Bot. Gazette, xl. (1905) pp. 401-16 (3 pis.) 

 J Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges., xxiii. (1904) pp. 419-27 (1 pi.). 

 § Nuovo Giorn. Bot. Ital., xii. (1905) pp. 488-93 (1 fig.). 

 j Ann. Mycol., iii. (1905) pp. 433-6 (5 figs.). 



