48 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



C. & P. which lives on red cedar, Juniperus virginiana 

 L. and the common juniper, J. communis depress a Pursh. 

 The spores of the Gymnosporangium are produced in spring and 

 serve to infect species of shad bushes, thorn bushes and quince 

 bushes or trees, but instead of reproducing the Gymnosporangium 

 in them, they develop into the orange rust or Roestelia, whose spores 

 are carried back to the red cedar or common juniper and produce in 

 them the Gymnosporangium. The Roestelia frequently causes great 

 loss to quince growers by attacking the young quinces and rendering 

 them worthless. Fine specimens of it were contributed by Messrs 

 J. A. Thomson, D. B. VanBuren, and G. G. Atwood. Quince fruits 

 from i-i . 5 inches in diameter were practically covered by the cups 

 of the fungus filled with their orange colored spores. In some cases 

 even the twigs bearing the fruit had been invaded and were swollen 

 by the fungus. This rust appears to have been unusually abundant 

 the past season, in the western part of the State. Mr D. B. Van 

 Buren found quince orchards there badly infested by it, even in 

 localities where no red cedar trees were known to exist within many 

 miles. This would indicate that the orange rust has some way of 

 reproducing itself without the intervention of the red cedar or that 

 some unnoticed juniper trees may exist in the vicinity of these 

 orchards and furnish the Gymnosporangium spores. Experiments 

 should be made by which the fact can be ascertained if the orange 

 rust can reproduce itself in the quince either the same or the follow- 

 ing year. Also if the mycelium may live in the twigs during the 

 winter and renew the development of the rust in the leaves and 

 fruit developing from the infested twigs. 



Sagina decumbens (Ell.) T. & G. 



Orient Point. June. R. Latham. This is a rare and delicate 

 little plant. 



Scirpus occidentalis (Wats.) Chase 



Canandaigua. August. Miss E. C. Webster. The longer spikes 

 separate this species from its near relative Scirpus validus 

 Vahl. The plant previously reported under this name proves to 

 be a mere form of S . validus Vahl. 



Sphaerotheca humuli (DC.) Burr. 

 Living leaves and aments of hop vines. Middleburg, Schoharie 

 CO. G. G. Atwood. The fungus attacks the leaves, diminishing 

 their vigor ; also the aments or fruit, arresting their proper devel- 

 opment and causing partial or sometimes serious failure of the 

 crop. 



