364 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVIII. No. 976 



slide would be 132.1.15 if it is made from the 

 first cutting. This method at a glance tells in 

 what year the imbedding is done and whether 

 or not all of the slides on a given subject are 

 from one piece of material or from several, 

 so that no doubt can exist as to the history 

 of any particular slide. Of course the figure 

 or figures following the first two and preceding 

 the first decimal point identify completely the 

 subject which that slide is connected with. 

 Incidentally this method of numbering saves 

 the instructor's time, in case the slides are for 

 classroom use, and enables him to assign one 

 or more of the slides to definite students with 

 assurance that the correct slides will be re- 

 turned. 



Ernest Shaw Eeynolds 

 Agricultural College, N. D. 



upon the distribution of ehodochytrium 



During the last three or four years there 

 has been a considerable amount of discussion 

 as to the distribution of Bhodochytrium 

 spilanihidis Lagerh. and some remarks have 

 been made suggesting that it was rather 

 curious that it should occur in three widely 

 separated regions and upon three different 

 hosts. The three regions are Ecuador, Kan- 

 sas and North Carolina. In the North Caro- 

 lina region upon one of its hosts. Ambrosia 

 art emisice folia L., it was found covering a con- 

 siderable area, in fact it extended pretty well 

 from one end of the state to the other. It has 

 since been found to cover a portion of South 

 Carolina extending almost from the moun- 

 tains to the coast. 



The occurrence of the parasite at all points 

 in South Carolina wherever I have made care- 

 ful search for it has led me to believe that the 

 distribution might be extended to cover most 

 of the southeastern and gulf states and so up 

 the Mississippi Valley and west to Kansas, 

 thus connecting two of these widely separated 

 regions. With this view in mind I wrote to 

 a number of botanists and plant pathologists 

 in the agricultural colleges and experiment 

 stations of the various states covering this 

 territory to ascertain if the parasite occurred 

 in their respective localities. With one ex- 



ception I received the reply, that so far as 

 they were able to find, it did not occur in any 

 of these localities. 



Dr. F. A. Wolf, of Auburn, Ala., sent me 

 specimens collected at Auburn and wrote that 

 he had also found it at Cullman, Ala. The 

 occurrence of the parasite in these two locali- 

 ties makes it very probable that it will be 

 found in the intervening state of Georgia. 



Through the kindness of Mr. A. B. Massey 

 I received specimens from Oriole, Md., which 

 is the most northern station for this disease, 

 so far reported, east of the Blue Eidge and 

 Allegheny Mountains. I believe that it may 

 be found still further north if careful search 

 be made for it. It seems to me that there can 

 be no doubt of its being found in Virginia, 

 thus connecting the Maryland and the North 

 Carolina regions. 



It is a universal fact that in looking for the 

 parasite I have always found it upon the 

 smooth form of Amirosia, for in both North 

 Carolina and South Carolina there is a smooth 

 and a pubescent form of the host. It also oc- 

 curs more abundantly where the soil is rather 

 poor and sandy and has not been cultivated 

 for at least one season previous to the occur- 

 rence of the parasite. 



I also believe that a more continued search 

 for the Rhodochytrium will lead to its being 

 found so as to connect at least two of the re- 

 gions reported, and it is quite possible that it 

 may connect all three of them. 



I give with this, localities additional to 

 those already published by Dr. Geo. F. Atkin- 

 son^ where the parasite has been found. The 

 first three are credited to the proper persons 

 reporting them and the rest are those in which 

 I have collected the plant. Oriole, Maryland, 

 Mr. A. B. Massey; Auburn, Alabama, Dr. F. 

 A. Wolf; Cullman, Alabama, Dr. F. A. Wolf; 

 Clemson College, S. C; Greenville, S. C; 

 Eidgeland, S. C; St. George, S. C; Olar, 

 S. C; Springfield, S. C; St. Matthews, S. C; 

 Temassee, S. C. ; Ninety-six, S. C. ; Pendleton, 

 S. C; Newberry, S. C; Central, S. C. 



John G. Hall 



Washington State College 



'Science, 28, pp. 691-692, November 13, 1908. 



