October 27, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



611 



tion was due to the rust, the uredo stage of 

 which was just beginning to make its appear- 

 ance. The specimens were put away and were 

 not again examined until a short time ago 

 when it was decided to make a proper identifi- 

 cation of them. When they were taken it was 

 our intention to revisit the fields and collect 

 the teleuto stage, but owing to press of other 

 work this was not done. When a reexamina- 

 tion of the material was made we found it im- 

 possible to determine the species and a send- 

 ing was therefore made to Mrs. Flora W. 

 Patterson, mycologist, U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D. C. The tentative 

 opinion of the writer, that the rust in question 

 was none other than Puccinia glumarum Eriks. 

 and Henn., has been confirmed both by Mrs. 

 Patterson and the pathologists in the Cereal- 

 ist's Office at Washington. 



Just two days previous to our finding this 

 rust, Dr. F. Kolpin Pavn, of Copenhagen, Den- 

 mark, Mr. A. G. Johnson, of the University of 

 Wisconsin, and Dr. H. B. Humphrey, of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, visited the 

 Salt Lake Valley and were undoubtedly on the 

 lookout for this rust which was seen for the 

 first time in this country at Sacaton, Arizona. 1 

 The writer had the pleasure of entertaining 

 these gentlemen during this visit, making with 

 them a short automobile tour about the valley 

 in the interest of cereal diseases. 



The rust infection due to Puccinia glum- 

 arum, as noted in the Salt Lake Valley, is un- 

 doubtedly of greater economic importance than 

 had hitherto been supposed. It is not known 

 to what extent the wheat crop was injured, 

 but it is the writer's opinion that the loss over 

 a considerable area must have been quite heavy 

 if the extent of the infection could be taken 

 as a criterion. During the present season 

 careful notes will be made on the occurrence, 

 distribution and effect of this rust on wheat 

 in the Salt Lake Valley and adjacent districts. 

 P. J. O'Gaea 



Dept. of Agei. Investigations, 

 American Smelting and Eefining Co., 

 Salt Lake City, Utah, 

 June 10, 1916 



i Science, N. S., Tol. XLII., No. 1071, p. 58. 



IS INHERITANCE MODIFIED BY ACQUIRED 

 CHARACTERS? 



In the American Naturalist for August, 

 1916, I find an interesting article by Dr. 0. B. 

 Davenport, on "The Form of Evolutionary 

 Theory that Eesearch Seems to Favor." The 

 general result of his investigation is " that 

 the course of evolution is chiefly determined 

 by internal changes," that is, by genetic 

 changes. He, however, reminds us that " there 

 is some evidence . . . that the germ plasm is 

 not beyond the reach of modifying agents. At 

 least we must continue experimental efforts 

 in that direction." 



The question which I wish to raise is 

 whether attention has been given to the book 

 by Walter Kidd, entitled " The Direction of 

 Hair in Animals and Man," published by 

 Adam and Charles Black, London, 1903. On 

 pages 76 and 81 will be found pictures show- 

 ing the difference in the arrangement of hair 

 on the head of the chimpanzee, and that 

 found on the heads of many young human 

 subjects, who seem to have inherited some of 

 the new arrangements through the influence 

 of the artificial parting of the hair, practised 

 by their ancestors for several generations. If 

 these pictures correctly represent inherited 

 conditions, it seems impossible to attribute 

 them to spontaneous variations, uninfluenced 

 by habit, and preserved simply because they 

 gave their subjects superior power in the 

 struggle for life, or because of any other form 

 of selection. 



For several years failing eyesight has re- 

 stricted, not only my own investigations, but 

 my knowledge of what others have accom- 

 plished; and I shall be thankful for any in- 

 formation as to whether these points have been 

 discussed in the American Naturalist, or in 

 any of our scientific journals. 



John T. Gulick 



Honolulu, T. H. 



TUMORS IN PLANTS 



At last I have succeeded in producing small 

 tumors in plants without the use of the crown 

 gall organism {Bacterium tumefaciens), i. e., 

 simply by means of substances which are by- 



