CHAPTER II. 



Fungus attacking the straw— Dipazea on the joints— Puccinia 

 Graminis or corn-mildew — Explanation of the terra — Habits 

 of growth— Microscopical appearances— Shape of the spores— 

 Their situation with regard to the stomata of the stem — 

 Functions of the stomata — Method of seeing them well with 

 the microscope— Sporules of puccinia enter the plant by them 

 — Pamphlet of sir Joseph Banks- Drawings of Mr. Bauer — 

 Old Testament mention of mildew— Grasses and reeds subject 

 to it — It appears in the autumn — Fries, on the universal diffu- 

 sion of sporules — Farmers' clubs — Value to them of the mi- 

 croscope — Method of examiningthe puccinia — Another fungus 

 frequently mistaken for it — Remedies against puccinia — 

 Parasites removed by cleanliness, both from plants and 

 animals. 



Our inquiry into the habits of the parasitic 

 fungi, found upon the wheat-plant, will com- 

 mence with one of its most common pests 

 attacking the straw. And here it may be 

 mentioned, that the joints of the straw are not 

 unfrequently affected by a small and almost 

 unobserved fungus called dipazeoj upon which 

 it is unnecessary to dwell, for it is not con- 

 sidered as making its appearance on stems in a 



