jo8 Naked Sniiii of Barley. 



plants were produced. But when floral infection was carried out the results 

 were the same as in the Loose smut of wheat, the mycelium remaining latent 

 in the seed and developing spores when the young ovaries of the host-plant 

 were formed. 



From the nature of the flower of the barley and its being more firmly 

 enclosed in the glumes than is the case in wheat, it was not so easy to carry 

 out artificial infection and with the same certainty of results, but the experi- 

 ments showed that infection of the flower is the main, if not the only mode. 

 Hecke infected a number of the flowers of barley with smut spores when the 

 ovaries were still undeveloped, and the stigmas were quite fresh. Then, when 

 the fruit had normally ripened, and had been properly disinfected, it was 

 placed under sterile conditions in a germinating chamber, in order to examine 

 the embryo or young plant at different stages of development. If an 

 embryo is examined just beginning its development, even at this young stage 

 numerous hyphae are seen in a longitudinal section. In Fig. 6 a slightly 

 more advanced embryo is shown, and the mycelium is copiously developed 

 at the junction of the first leaf with the growing apex. {v). There can be no 

 doubt that this is the mycelium of the smut produced by flower infection, 

 since it is only found in infected seeds, and the subsequent infection of 

 the seed during germination is completely excluded by treatment with a 

 fungicide. 



