SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



2 7 



glass shade, with a receptacle for water to prevent 

 evaporation. The illustrations are from coloured 

 drawing's by Mr. Lett, but we regret that the 

 exigencies of l-eproduction prevent our giving the 

 magnifications. — Ed. Microscopy, S.-G-.] 



Notes by Eev. H. W. Lett, M.A, 



Notes on some Micro-fungi. — Phragmidium 

 obtusatum Link. Strawberry brand. Cooke's 

 Handbook, No. 1460. Habitat : on leaves, fee., 

 of barren strawberry (Potmtilla fragariastrumi) t 



summer and autumn, though I have collected it 

 also in spring. The uredo spores are sub-globose, 

 of an orange colour, and form confluent masses 

 that often surround the petioles and cover the 

 under-side of the leaves. The spots in the earliest 

 stage are yellowish and nearly round. The brand 

 spores (fig. 1) are cylindrical, multiseptate, with 

 the terminal joint obtuse, and borne on a long 

 peduncle. They are scattered in minute tufts. 

 The blunt terminal joint is a distinguishing mark 

 of this species. I have found both brand and 

 uredo states of this micro-fungus mingled to- 

 gether on the same leaf, but only rarely. The 

 synonyms are Uredo potentillarvm, Aregma obtit- 

 satum, and Puccinia potentillae. 



Puccinia ouxi D.C. Box brand. Cooke's Hand- 

 book, No. 1514. Habitat : on the leaves of box 

 {Buxus scmpervirens, fig. 2). In spring, summer, 

 and autumn. The uredo spores do not appear to 

 have yet been recognised. The sori of the brand 

 spores grow on both surfaces of the leaves of the 

 box plant. They are somewhat round, convex, and 

 scattered irregularly. The brand spores (fig. 3) of 

 all the Pucciniae have only one division, the upper 

 and lower parts being nearly equal in size. In the 

 box brand the spores are brown, rather strongly 

 constricted at the division, and the lower cell is 

 slightly attenuated. Their form is oblong, cylin- 



drical, and they are borne on a very long peduncle. 

 For convenience of reference I have given the 

 numbers in Cooke's " Handbook of British Fungi," 

 in which each species is described, and from which 

 I have in great part compiled these memoranda. 



Nectriu cinnabarina Fr. Vermilion Nectria. 

 Cooke's Handbook, No. 2346. Habitat : on dead 

 twigs of all kinds (fig. 4). Very common in 

 winter and spring. The little red dots have pro- 

 bably been noticed by all. When a dead twig or 

 "pea-rod" on which they are seen is examined, 

 two kinds of the red points will be observed. One 

 is of smooth red dots bursting through the outer 

 barks, with a naked margin : these, unless when 

 moist, have a whitish bloom ; they are the conidia 

 or early state of the fungus, a section of which 

 shows it to consist of a mass of minute dust-like 

 bodies. The other red points will be found 

 wrinkled and studded with ostiolae, or little raised 

 papilliform mouths. Their colour is a bright 

 vermilion, which at length changes to a brownish 

 hue. In this are the asci, or flask-like vessels 

 which contain uniseptate sporidia (fig. 5). These 

 sporidia are colourless and rather pointed at each 

 end. 



Bactylium, roseum Berk. Bosy Dactylium. 

 Cooke's Handbook, No. 1827. Habitat : on decay- 

 ing plants. The flocci, or fertile threads of this 



°„°Fip 23 



fungus, are erect, jointed, branched, and extremely 

 delicate (fig. 6). I could not manage to secure 

 even one in a perfect condition under the covering 

 glass ; they broke up the instant my needle touched 

 them ; so that it is loose fruit alone that appear 

 on the slide. The fruit or spores are septate 

 (fig. 7) — uniseptate— oblong in shape, and rose- 

 coloured. The spores in my plant were borne on 

 erect flocci, but owing to their extremely slender 

 nature, then are none actually in situ in my pre- 

 sent specimen. 



Bacryomyces stillatus Nees. Orange Dacryo- 

 myces. Cooke's Handbook, No. 1039. Habitat : 

 on pine rails. This is common in clamp weather. 

 It is of a firm, gelatinous nature, and of the same 

 character and consistency throughout the whole 



