and some other Grasses. 469 



Their presence* communicates disease most frequently to the entire grain; 

 occasionally, however, only part of the albumen is attacked, and Tessier men- 

 tions this fact in these words : " C'est que la portion ergot^e qui fait tantot la 

 moitie, le tiers ou le quart, est la plus voisine du support de I'^pi et se trouve 

 inser^e dans la balle, occupant la place du germe au lieu que la portion sem- 

 blable k du seigle est a decouvert et la plus 61oign6e du support." These 

 observations prove, from the position of the ergotized portion, that internal 

 causes weve more likely to effect such than external ones, and would counte- 

 nance the opinion tiiat the embryo was in such cases the part diseased ; but 

 these examples are so rare that that supposition cannot be maintained : on 

 the other hand, it is to be remarked, that no trace of the embryo exists in the 

 perfect ergot, and if it could have ever been impregnated, it must have been 

 as speedily destroyed; and it is most likely that the grain is never impreg- 

 nated, as the disease can be detected before the pollen is emitted ; which fact 

 coincides with Leveill6's observations, who says (p. 571.)? "Souvent on ren- 

 contre les anthferes coUees a la surface; elles sont enti^res, lineaires, leurs 

 loges fermdes et remplies de pollen ; circonstance, nous avons dit, qui avait 

 ete observ6e par Aymen et Beguillet, et qui prouve que le developpement de 

 la sphac61ie precede I'anthfese." 



The diseased action thus engendered frequently destroys the vitality of the 

 grain at the outset, so that it is unable to live under the effects produced by 

 the fungus ; specimens being sometimes found as if smothered by its rapid 

 growth : when, however, the grain is not deprived of life, the diseased action 

 vitiates all its constituents, and the perfect ergot soon takes the place of the 

 healthy ovary, containing neither starch nor gluten, but an abundance of 

 oily matter and other substances of a peculiar chemical nature. 



From many experiments and examinations that have been made and re- 

 peated again and again, in order to obviate every source of error arising from 



* 1 can see no objection to the supposition, entertained also by others, that there may be numer- 

 ous kinds of parasitic plants whose germs arrive only at maturity in the interior of others, and 

 which may be called Entophytes, which, like Entozoa, may have the power of selecting different organs 

 as places of development, some choosing the stem and the leaves, and others the organs of reproduc- 

 tion. It is not to be conceived how so many fungi develop under, and then burst through the epi- 

 dermis of many parts of plants, if this be not admitted. 



