JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. 



Part II.— NATURAL SCIENCE. 



No. I.— 1886. 



I. — On a Uredine affecting the Himalayan Spruce-fir (Abies smithiana, 

 Forbes).— By Surgeon A. Barclay, M. B., Bengal Medical Service. 

 [Received December 20th ;— Read January 6th, 1886.] 

 (With Plates I., II., and III.) 

 During a short holiday spent in the interior of the Western Hima- 

 layas beyond Simla during May, I observed many fir trees {Abies smi- 

 thiana) attacked by a conspicuous parasite which, upon examination, 

 proved to be a uredine — and apparently a new one, for its characters do 

 not correspond with those of any other that I am acquainted with oc- 

 curring on the Coniferae. It occurred in great abundance throughout 

 the forests of the Sutlej valley at elevations of from 7,000 to 10,000 feet. 

 I have not been able to obtain any evidence of its extension eastwards 

 along the Himalayas,* but in a westerly direction Colonel Collett informs 

 me that he has met with it in the Kuram Valley of Afghanistan. He 

 unfortunately did not preserve any specimens, but, from his description of 

 the affection as he saw it there, I think there can be little doubt about 

 its identity. 



I have no data to enable me accurately to limit the season during 

 which the parasite continues to be outwardly recognisable. It was met 

 with in various stages of development throughout May, and I believe it 

 * See note at end of paper. 

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