of the host, and showing the scanty knowledge Cooke had of the sub- 

 ject, I have seen somewhere a figure by him, illustrating these spores 

 as the spores of the plant. In fact, I surmise that Berkeley must have 

 thought they were "spines" when he classified it as Hymenochaete 

 (sic). 



As further illustrating the wide distribution of plants, this curious 

 growth came originally from Venezuela, then it was found in Ceylon, 

 and then in the United States. Berkeley had it from Venezuela and 

 Ceylon, and Fetch tells me he finds it frequent in Ceylon. I have it 

 from Henri Perrier de la Bathie, Madagascar. Morgan found it 

 around Cincinnati; I never did, but have specimens from J. W. 

 Huntington, Massachusetts; Mrs. Hannah Streeter, Pennsylvania; 

 A. P. Morgan, Ohio; W. H. Ballou, New York, and Burtt Leeper, 

 Ohio. 



The genus Sebacina is based on the basidia as pointed out by 

 Tulasne. It has fleshy or cartilaginous tissue and hyaline spores and 

 in the Friesian classification is generally called either Corticium, 

 Stereum, or Thelephora. But the basidia correspond with the trem- 

 ellaceous plants, and instead of being clavate with four sterigmata, 

 they are divided by septations into four compartments, and hence, 

 according to the classification of "experts" of the present day, they 

 are entirely different from ordinary Basidiomycetes, and must be 

 classified in a different division. According to the modern system of 

 classification of fungi, Nature, when she evolved this subject, did 

 not pay any attention to anything excepting the basidia, and how- 

 ever wide the difference may be otherwise, if the basidia are similar, 

 they must be classified together. I am glad to see that Prof. Burt 

 in his recent summary has taken a more sensible view of it and classi- 

 fied Sebacina among the Thelephoraceous plants, where, according 

 to my ideas, it naturally belongs. 



As previously stated, I do not know that this plant is a Sebacina, 

 but I judge so from its habits, for Sebacinas are always encrusting 

 plants growing on living hosts, and similar to this species in habits 

 and appearance. 



THE GENUS EXOBASIDIUM. We are considerably amused 

 in looking over Prof. Burt's recently published conclusions on the 

 genus Exobasidium. Fourteen "new species" have been discovered 

 in Europe and the United States, all of which Burt finds are the same 

 species, Exobasidium vaccinii, and it takes more space to put them 

 together than it did to pull them apart. Many' discoverers of new 

 species are like the "wise" men we read of in our nursery books, who 

 jump into the bramble bush to scratch out all their eyes, and then 

 jump back to scratch them in again. 



540 



